More and more people around the globe are suffering as their immune systems are unable to longer tell the difference between healthy cells and invader micro-organisms. Instead of protecting themselves against disease, their organs and tissue are being attacked by the same defenses.
A number of major international research efforts are in place to combat this trend - for instance, a London-based initiative called the Francis Crick Institute, where two world-renowned experts, James Lee and Carola Vinuesa have established separate research groups to help pinpoint the precise reasons behind autoimmune diseases in the way that these diseases are recognized as such.
Lee told the Observer, that autoimmune cases increased in the west about 40 years ago. We now see some cases in countries that had never experienced such illnesses.
The Middle East, East Asia and Africa have seen the greatest increase in inflammatory bowel disorder cases over the last few years. They'd never seen the condition before.
Type 1 diabetes is one of the autoimmune disorders. Other conditions include rheumatoid disease, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel. In all cases the immune system is activated and its wires crossed, and it turns towards healthy tissue, not infective agents.
At least four million people living in the UK have been affected by these ailments. Others may suffer more than one. In the world, it is believed that the number of cases of autoimmune diseases is rising by 3 to 9 percent annually. The majority of scientists believe that the environment plays a significant factor in this growth.
Lee, who was previously located in Cambridge University, stated that genetics hasn't changed much in recent decades. There must be a change around the world in a manner that's increasing our susceptibility to autoimmune disease.
The idea was supported by Vinuesa who was based at the Australian National University. She emphasized that the changes in diets were occurring as more countries adopted Western-style diets, and more people purchased fast food items.
Fast-food diets lack certain important ingredients, such as fibre. Evidence indicates that this change affects the microbiome of a person - the group of micro-organisms are found in our digestive tract and that play a key role in regulating various bodily functions, Vinuesa stated.
These changes to our microbiomes then create autoimmune conditions, of which there are more than 100 kinds.
Both researchers emphasized that individual risk factors were involved in contracting such illnesses, ailments that also comprise celiac diseases as well with lupus, which causes swelling and inflammation that can cause damage to various organs, such as the heart.
Vinuesa added, "If there is no genetic susceptibility to an immune-mediated disease is not likely to be a problem regardless of the amount of Big Macs we eat." We can't do about the spread of fast-food chains around the globe. We're instead trying to understand how autoimmune diseases are caused and what genetic causes cause certain individuals to be more vulnerable than others. We're determined to solve this issue at the most fundamental levels.
The advancement of technology allows us to detect tiny variations in DNA between large groups of people. In this way, it is possible to determine common genetic patterns in people who suffer from an autoimmune condition.
Lee explained that the capability to sequence large amounts of DNA has revolutionized the entire process. We didn't have this technology until recent. Inflammatory bowel disease was only one of the DNA variants that we could identify when I began my study. Today, we have over 250.
Lee and Vinuesa are working on this research because they wish to understand how genetic pathways work and the causes of the various illnesses that doctors are currently studying. When you examine autoimmune diseases - for example Lupus, for instance - it's been made clear that there are numerous different variants of these diseases, which could be caused through different genetic pathways Vinuesa explained. If you're trying find the best treatment for your condition, this could be a problem.
We have lots of potentially useful new therapies that are developing constantly however, we aren't sure which patients to give these treatments to because we've come to realize that we don't know exactly which form of the disease they suffer from. This is an important aspect in autoimmune research. To determine the most effective treatment, it's essential to be able to categorize and stratify patients.
Lee stressed that the rising prevalence of autoimmune diseases across the world meant that new drugs and treatments were urgently required. There is currently no treatment for autoimmune diseases that typically affect young people, while they're trying to land their first job, finish school, and raise their families.
It means many more people will require surgery or have to undergo regular injections throughout their lives. This can be extremely stressful for patients, and also stressing the health services. We require innovative and effective treatments.
Rheumatoid is an autoimmune condition. This means that the immune system attacks healthy tissue. However, it's not clear what triggers it.
The immune system usually produces antibodies that fight against viruses and bacteria, assisting to fight off infection.
Rheumatoid arthritis refers to a condition where your immune system creates antibodies for your joints. They attack the tissues around the joint.
The thin layer (synovium) that is a protective layer on your joints, can be inflamed and inflamed which releases chemicals and cause injury.
bones
Cartilage - The connective tissue Click here stretchy that connects bones
Tendons are the connective tissue between bone and muscles.
Ligaments - The tissues that connects bone to cartilage
Rheumatoid arthritis may be treated but not treated. The chemicals can cause joints to become distorted and out of alignment. The chemicals can eventually cause the degeneration of the joint in its entirety.
There are a myriad of theories on the reasons why your immune system attacks joints, which includes the possibility of an infection being a trigger. But Click here none of them has been proven to be true.
Possible risk factors
There are many things that may increase your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis including:
The genes you carry - There is some evidence that Rheumatoid arthritis is passed down through families. But the chance of passing it to a child is not high since genes only play an important role in the condition.
Hormones-Rheumatoid Ailment is more common among women than males. This could be due to estrogen-related effects, however this isn't confirmed.
Smoking cigarettes is a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis. Some evidence supports this.