Autoimmune diseases do tend to run in families, which means that certain genes may make some people more likely to develop a problem. Viruses, certain chemicals, and other things in the environment may trigger an autoimmune disease if you already have the genes for it. Millions of Americans of all ages have autoimmune diseases. Women develop many types of autoimmune diseases much more often than men. And if you have one autoimmune disease, you are more likely to get another.
The symptoms of an autoimmune disease depend on the part of your body that's affected. Many types of autoimmune diseases cause redness, swelling, heat, and pain, which are the signs and symptoms of inflammation. But other illnesses can cause the same symptoms. The symptoms of autoimmune diseases can come and go. During a flare-up, your symptoms may get severe for a while. Later on, you may have a remission, which means that your symptoms get better or disappear for a period of time.
Doctors often have a hard time diagnosing autoimmune diseases. There's usually not a specific test to show whether you have a certain autoimmune disease. And the symptoms can be confusing. That's because many autoimmune diseases have similar symptoms. And some symptoms, such as muscle aches, are common in many other illnesses.
When the body senses danger from a virus or infection, the immune system kicks into gear and attacks it. This is called an immune response. Sometimes, healthy cells and tissues are caught up in this response, resulting in autoimmune disease. Many scientists believe this is what causes rheumatoid arthritis, a type of autoimmune disease that attacks the joints. Other types of autoimmune disease may come from the body trying to fight specifically against cancer cells.
Orbai points to scleroderma , a disease that causes thickening of the skin and connective tissues. Type 1 diabetes damages the pancreas. Other diseases, like systemic lupus erythematosus SLE , affect the whole body. Yet some people are more likely to get an autoimmune disease than others.
According to a study , women get autoimmune diseases at a rate of about 2 to 1 compared to men — 6. Some autoimmune diseases are more common in certain ethnic groups. For example, lupus affects more African-American and Hispanic people than Caucasians. Certain autoimmune diseases, like multiple sclerosis and lupus, run in families. Not every family member will necessarily have the same disease, but they inherit a susceptibility to an autoimmune condition.
Because the incidence of autoimmune diseases is rising, researchers suspect environmental factors like infections and exposure to chemicals or solvents might also be involved. Eating high-fat, high-sugar, and highly processed foods is thought to be linked to inflammation , which might set off an immune response. A study focused on another theory called the hygiene hypothesis. The lack of exposure could make their immune system prone to overreact to harmless substances.
Genetics, diet, infections, and exposure to chemicals might be involved. There are more than 80 different autoimmune diseases. Here are 14 of the most common ones. The pancreas produces the hormone insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar levels. In type 1 diabetes mellitus , the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
High blood sugar results can lead to damage in the blood vessels, as well as organs like the heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves. In rheumatoid arthritis RA , the immune system attacks the joints. This attack causes redness, warmth, soreness, and stiffness in the joints. Unlike osteoarthritis , which commonly affects people as they get older, RA can start as early as your 30s or sooner. Psoriasis causes skin cells to multiply too quickly. The extra cells build up and form inflamed red patches, commonly with silver-white scales of plaque on the skin.
Up to 30 percent of people with psoriasis also develop swelling, stiffness, and pain in their joints. This form of the disease is called psoriatic arthritis. Multiple sclerosis MS damages the myelin sheath, the protective coating that surrounds nerve cells, in your central nervous system. Damage to the myelin sheath slows the transmission speed of messages between your brain and spinal cord to and from the rest of your body.
This damage can lead to symptoms like numbness, weakness, balance issues, and trouble walking. The disease comes in several forms that progress at different rates. With unusual autoimmune diseases, patients may suffer years before getting a proper diagnosis. Most of these diseases have no cure.
Some require lifelong treatment to ease symptoms. To volunteer for a study seeking causes of and possible treatments for autoimmune diseases, visit this clinical trials website , and you may find one that addresses your condition. Collectively, these diseases affect more than 24 million people in the United States. Autoimmune diseases are affecting more people for reasons unknown. Likewise, the causes of these diseases remain a mystery.
Studies indicate these diseases likely result from interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Gender, race, and ethnicity characteristics are linked to a likelihood of developing an autoimmune disease.
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