Autoimmune Diseases: All You Need to Know

Autoimmune Diseases: All You Need to Know:

Autoimmune diseases are some of the most troubling and hard-to-treat immune system-related diseases. They occur when the immune system attacks healthy cells in the body.

Autoimmune disorders can be diagnosed wrongly or remain undiagnosed for years because many share similar symptoms. Once one is correctly diagnosed, a specialist helps the patient manage their illness with the right therapy.

Contents of this article:

1. What is an autoimmune disease?
2. Common autoimmune diseases
3. Autoimmune disease symptoms
4. Diagnosis of autoimmune diseases
5. Treatment for autoimmune diseases

What is an autoimmune disease?

The immune system is a network of tissues, organs, and cells. Its role is to defend the body from invaders, protecting against infections and disease.

An autoimmune disease results from a mistake made by the immune system. The body's immune system accidentally recognizes healthy cells as foreign invaders and begins to attack them. Research shows that autoimmune diseases tend to have underlying genetic, racial, and gender components.

Common autoimmune diseases

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), around 24 million Americans have at least one autoimmune disease. The NIH only include 24 diseases in this statistic, so this number may not represent the total number of people who have these disorders.

Here are some of the most common autoimmune diseases:

The NIH estimate that around 24 million Americans have an autoimmune disease.

• Celiac disease: Also known as gluten intolerance. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease where the lining of the small intestine becomes inflamed after eating foods that contain the gluten protein. Examples include wheat, rye, and barley.
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA): One of the most common long-term autoimmune disorders. It causes the immune system to attack tissue, often affecting joints in the hands and feet.
• Psoriasis: An autoimmune disorder thought to be triggered by stress, infections, or environmental factors. Psoriasis causes scales and dry, itchy patches on the skin.
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): Long-term inflammation of the gut and lining of the large intestine. There are two main types of IBD. Crohn's disease is inflammation that affects areas of the gut. Ulcerative colitis is long-term inflammation of the gut.
• Addison's disease: A condition that occurs when the adrenal glands fail to produce enough cortisol and aldosterone hormones. Addison's disease leads to low blood pressure, tiredness, dizziness upon standing, nausea, and skin darkening.
• Type 1 diabetes: Often referred to as insulin-dependent diabetes. This autoimmune disease occurs when the pancreas makes insufficient or no insulin, resulting in uncontrolled blood sugar.
• Vitiligo: A condition marked by loss of skin pigment or the loss of large batches of skin color.
• Hashimoto's disease: A condition that affects the thyroid gland. Hashimoto's disease causes inflammation of the gland, resulting in underproduction of thyroid hormone.
• Graves' disease: Similar to Hashimoto's disease, Graves' disease affects the thyroid. It causes the gland to produce too much thyroid hormone.

Risk factors for autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases can affect practically anyone, but there are certain factors that increase risk. These include:

• Genetics. There is a strong genetic aspect to almost all autoimmune disorders. Research suggests that a family history of autoimmune disease is a strong risk factor.
• Gender. Women are at a greater risk of autoimmune disease than men. Researchers are unsure as to why, but hormonal factors or the fact that women tend to have stronger immune systems may play a role.
• Age. Autoimmune disorders often occur in young adults and those in middle age.
• Ethnicity. Native American, Latino, and African-Americans generally develop autoimmune disorders at a much higher rate than Caucasians.
• Infection. If a genetically predisposed individual has suffered from specific viral or bacterial infections, there is a greater risk that they will also get an autoimmune disease in the future. While the reason behind this risk remains unclear, research continues to examine the role of previous infections on at-risk immune systems.

Autoimmune disease symptoms

Symptoms of autoimmune disease vary and depend on the type of autoimmune disease. Here is a quick overview of some of the symptoms of the most common autoimmune diseases:

• Celiac disease: Inflammation and pain in the abdomen, chest burning, tiredness, weight loss, vomiting, anddiarrhea.
• Rheumatoid arthritis: Painful swelling and stiffness of the joints, particularly in the hands and feet.
• Psoriasis: Joint pain, dry skin, skin rashes, and itchiness.
• Inflammatory bowel disease: Stomach cramps, bloating, bloody diarrhea, nausea, and constipation.
• Addison's disease: Tiredness, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, dizziness, dehydration, and loss of appetite.
• Type 1 diabetes: Frequent urination, increased thirst, loss of energy, blurred vision, hunger, and nausea.
• Vitiligo: Loss of skin color (especially noticeable in darker-skinned patients).
• Hashimoto's disease: Weight gain, tiredness, depression, joint stiffness, and increased sensitivity to cold.
• Graves' disease: Weight loss, anxiety, shaky hands, high blood pressure, and sweating.
• Lupus: Muscle and joint pain, rash, tiredness, and fever.

Since many autoimmune diseases share similar symptoms, diagnosis is often challenging.

For example, lupus affects the joints in a similar way to RA but tends to be less severe. Lyme diseasealso causes joint stiffness and inflammation similarly to RA but is caused by a tick.

IBD has similar symptoms to celiac disease but is not typically caused by eating foods containing gluten.

Cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a type of immune system cancer. It is caused by a mutation of T cells and presents symptoms such as skin rashes and itchiness. CTCL is sometimes missed during its early stages because its symptoms are so similar to psoriasis.

Diagnosis of autoimmune diseases

The diagnosis of autoimmune disease differs based on the specific disease. Rheumatoid arthritis, for example, may be diagnosed after a physical exam, blood test, or X-ray. These tests can determine the type of arthritis as well as how severe it is.

Blood tests measure the amount of white and red blood cells. These cells signal whether or not the immune system is fighting something.

Diseases can sometimes take years to diagnose because many symptoms of autoimmune disorders mimic other diseases. Conditions like lupus and celiac disease may be misdiagnosed in their early stages because their symptoms are so similar to other diseases.

Hashimoto's disease and Graves' disease are a bit simpler to diagnose as they usually rely on a simple thyroid test. This test determines levels of thyroid hormone.

An autoimmune disease usually centers around the immune system and the antibodies produced by this system. As a result, diagnosis often involves testing for specific antibodies.

A complete blood count may be ordered to measure the amount of white and red blood cells. When the immune system is fighting something, the number of white and red blood cells will differ from normal levels.

Other tests can determine if there is any unusual inflammation in the body. Inflammation is a symptom that is fairly common among all autoimmune diseases. These tests include a C-reactive protein test and an erythrocyte sedimentation rate test.

A doctor should be seen right away as soon as symptoms begin. While symptoms may not always be caused by an autoimmune disease, it's best to tackle any issues right away than wait for them to get worse.

Treatment for autoimmune disease

Treatment also varies depending on the type of disorder. For example, type 1 diabetes relies on insulin therapy. Addison's disease requires hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Celiac disease is improved with a gluten-free diet. RA is often managed with physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medications.