The immune system of many people are unable to differentiate between healthy cells and invading microorganisms. This is causing greater suffering throughout the world. Instead of protecting themselves from illness their organs and tissues are being attacked by these same defenses.
This issue is being addressed by large international research initiatives. One instance of this initiative is the London's Francis Crick Institute. Two world experts, James Lee (from the United States) and Carola Vinuesa (from Italy), have established distinct research groups to determine the precise causes.
Lee said that autoimmune cases have been on the rise since the past 40 years in the west. However, some of these cases are now being observed in countries where they have never experienced such diseases.
The Middle East and East Asia have seen the largest rise in the incidence of inflammatory bowel disorders. They had never before experienced the disease.
Autoimmune diseases can range from type 1 diabetes to multiple MS chronic fatigue syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis. In each of these cases, your immune system becomes confused and shifts to healthy tissue over infectious agents.
The UK has at least 4,000,000 people who have these conditions. There are also numerous other. Globally, it is believed that the incidence of autoimmune diseases is growing by anywhere between 3 and 9 percent each year. The rise in cases of autoimmune diseases is thought to be due to environmental factors, as per the majority of researchers.
Human genetics haven't changed over the last several decades, claimed Lee who was working at Cambridge University. There's a possibility that something is going on in the outside world that has increased our susceptibility to autoimmune disease.
Vinuesa an ex-student at the Australian National University, supported this idea. She pointed out the changes in the way people eat as more nations were adopting western eating habits, and people consumed much more fast-food.
Vinuesa said that some vital ingredients in fast food diets are missing which includes fiber. It is known to suggest that altering the microbiome (the assortment of microorganisms that we have in our digestive system) could result in a loss in specific body functions.
The microbiome's changes could trigger autoimmune conditions. More than 100 different types of autoimmune disorders have been identified.
The two scientists agreed that people are susceptible to developing these diseases. They include celiac and Lupus, which trigger swelling and inflammation and lead to harm to various organs, including the heart.
Vinuesa states that a person who doesn't suffer from a genetic susceptibility to develop an autoimmune disease regardless of the quantity of Big Macs they eat. "There's not much we can prevent the world-wide spread of fast food franchises. We're instead trying to understand how autoimmune diseases can be caused and the genetic factors that cause certain individuals to be more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases than others. We Check out are trying to address the problem at this level."
Modern techniques mean that scientists are now able to identify small genetic differences across a wide range of individuals. It allows us to discover common genetic patterns among people with autoimmune diseases.
Until very recently we didn't have the tools for this, but we're able to sequence DNA on a large scale. This has completely changed everything, said Lee. Inflammatory bowel disease was only one of the DNA variants we were able to identify when I began my research. Now, we know more than 250.
Lee and Vinuesa have been conducting this research since the beginning. Their goals are to uncover the various kinds of diseases which doctors are currently studying and uncover the genetic pathways that cause these types of diseases. Vinuesa stated that there are many variants of autoimmune diseases, like Lupus. And that has a consequence when you are trying to determine the best treatment.
There are a lot of new treatments that may be beneficial but we don't have the appropriate patients. In fact, we don’t have the information we need to know if these patients suffer from the same illness. This is why research into autoimmune diseases has become a major focus. To provide the best treatment, we must learn how to categorize patients.
Lee added that the increasing cases of autoimmune diseases across the world meant new therapies and medicines were urgently needed more than ever before. There are currently no treatments for autoimmune diseases that typically affect teens, who are trying to get their first job, finish school, and raise their families.
It means that a growing number of people will have to undergo surgery or have regular injections. This can be very difficult for patients, and put a massive pressure on healthcare. It is therefore essential to come up with effective and novel treatments.
Rheumatoid is an autoimmune condition. It is a condition where the immune system targets healthy tissues. It's not clear what causes this.
The antibodies your immune system creates to fight viruses and bacteria are the ones you require to fight off infection.
Rheumatoid arthritis refers to a condition that affects your immune system and creates antibodies for your joints. They attack the tissue surrounding the joint.
The thin layer of cells (synovium) covering your joints to become swollen and inflamed, releasing chemicals that harm nearby tissues:
bones
Cartilage is the connective tissue that connects bones and is composed of cartilage.
Tendons connect muscle to bone
ligaments, the tissue that connects cartilage and bone
Rheumatoid arthritis may be treated but not managed. The chemicals that cause it cause joints to become distorted and out of alignment. The chemicals can eventually lead to the degeneration of the joint in its entirety.
There are many theories on how the immune system fights the joints. One theory is that an infection might trigger. However, none of these theories have been proved.
Possible risk factors
There are a variety of factors which can increase your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis including:
Your genes are a factor - there's evidence to suggest that rheumatoid Read More arthritis may be passed down in families, though the risk of inheriting it is believed to be minimal as genes are only thought to play a minor influence on the condition.
hormones - rheumatoid arthritis is more prevalent in women than men, which could be due to the effects of the hormone oestrogen however, this connection hasn't been proven
Smoking - Smoking increases the chance of developing rheumatoidarthritis.