The immune system of many people is failing to distinguish between healthy cells and invader microorganisms. This is creating more suffering around the world. Instead of protecting them from illness the organs and tissues are being attacked by these same defenses.
International research is underway to counter the growing trend. This includes an initiative at London’s Francis Crick Institute where two world-renowned experts, James Lee, and Carola Vinuesa, have formed separate research groups that will determine the causes behind autoimmune disorders.
Lee revealed to the Observer the extent to which autoimmune cases has increased over the past 40 years in the West. We are witnessing cases appear in countries that had never seen such diseases before.
For instance, the Middle East and East Asia are the regions that have the highest percentage of cases of inflammatory bowel disease. They had not seen the condition before.
Type 1 diabetes is among the autoimmune diseases. Other conditions include rheumatoid, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel. Each case is different. In each instance the immune system crosses its wires and switches on healthy tissues instead of infectious agents.
The UK has at most 4 million patients suffering from these diseases. There are many other. Globally, it's thought that the number of autoimmune diseases is rising by between 3%-9% per annum. Researchers believe that environmental triggers are key to this rise.
Lee who worked previously in Cambridge University, said that the human genetics of humans is not changing over the last decade. There's got to be something external that is causing the predisposition of autoimmune diseases.
Vinuesa was the one who was the one who believed in this concept. Vinuesa was previously at the Australian National University. She spoke about the changes in the diets of people when more nations adopted west-style diets and people ate more fast food.
Vinuesa explained that a few essential ingredients in fast food diets are not present such as fiber. It is known that altering the microbiome (the collection of microorganisms we have in our digestive system) can lead to an impairment in certain body functions.
Changes in microbiomes can then trigger autoimmune diseases. More than 100 different types of autoimmune diseases have been discovered.
Both researchers said that certain people are more prone to getting these diseases. These include celiac as well as Lupus, which can cause inflammation and swelling and result in damage to various organs including the heart.
Vinuesa claims that anyone who doesn't suffer from a genetic susceptibility will not get an autoimmune disorder, regardless of the amount of Big Macs they consume. "There's nothing we can prevent the world-wide expansion of fast food chains. Instead, we're trying to figure out how autoimmune conditions are caused and the genetic factors that cause certain individuals to be more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases than others. We're determined to solve this issue at the most fundamental levels.
Modern techniques mean that scientists can now pinpoint small differences in DNA among a large number of people. In this way, it is possible to determine the common genetic patterns that are common to those suffering from an autoimmune disorder.
Until very recently, we just didn't have the technology to do that, but now we're able to sequence DNA on a large scale and that has changed everything, said Lee. When I started doing research, we knew about half a dozen DNA variants that were involved in triggering inflammatory bowel disease. There are now over 250.
Lee and Vinuesa have a particular focus of their energies on this particular type of work. They want to learn more about genetic pathway and discover the root causes of diverse diseases they study. Vinuesa said that there could be many versions of some diseases that are autoimmune, such as Lupus. It is important to understand the implications of this when trying to determine the best Check out treatment.
Many new therapies are in development and we don’t know who to recommend these to. Because we don’t know the exact cause of their illness, there are many possibilities. This is an important goal in research into autoimmune diseases. So that we can offer the most effective treatment we must be able to classify and categorize patients.
Lee also stated that Check out there are now more autoimmune diseases than ever before, and the development of new treatments and drugs are urgently needed. According to Lee, today there's no treatment for autoimmune conditions. They are most often seen in teens who are trying to complete their studies and secure work.
That means more people will have to undergo surgery and/or have regular injections throughout their life. This could be extremely difficult for patients and place stress on the health system. It is therefore essential to come up with effective and novel methods of treatment.
Rheumatoid is an autoimmune condition. It is a condition where the immune system attacks healthy tissues. This is an unanswered mystery.
The immune system typically produces antibodies to fight off bacteria and viruses to fight off infection.
If you suffer from Rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system mistakenly sends antibodies to the lining of your joints and attack the tissues surrounding the joint.
This causes the thin cells-like layer of your joints (synovium), to become irritated and painful, which releases chemicals that cause harm around the joint.
bones
Cartilage – The stretchy connective tissue connecting bones
Tendons - connects muscles to bone
Ligaments - The connective tissue between bone and cartilage
Rheumatoid arthritis may be treated but it is not treated. The chemicals can cause the joint to become unbalanced and distorted. It could eventually lead to total destruction of the joint.
Though there are many theories that explain why the immune system targets the joint, none has been proven.
Possible risk factors
Rheumatoid-related arthritis can be caused by a variety of reasons, such as:
You could inherit it from your genes. There are indications that rheumatoid arthritis could be passed down the generations, the chances of getting it are low because genes only play a very tiny role in the disease.
Hormones Rheumatoid Arthritis is much more common for women than in males. This may result from the effect of Oestrogen. But this connection isn't yet proven.
Smoking - Some evidence suggests that smokers are at a higher chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis.