The immune system of many people are unable to differentiate between healthy cells and invader microorganisms. This is leading to greater suffering throughout the world. They are being attacked by disease defenses that used to protect them.
International research efforts are intensifying to combat this trend. One illustration is the London Francis Crick Institute initiative which James Lee and Carola Vinesa two experts from around the world in this field, have established separate research groups that will assist in determining the exact nature of the autoimmune disorders.
Lee explained that autoimmune diseases are on the rise since around 40 years ago in the West. However, we are now witnessing cases appear in nations that have never experienced these diseases prior to.
For instance, the largest recent rise in cases of inflammatory bowel diseases is located in the Middle East and east Asia. They'd never heard of this disease prior to.
Autoimmune disorders can range from type 1 diabetes to MS as well as chronic fatigue syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. In each of these cases, the immune system gets its wires crossed and focuses on healthy tissue instead of infectious agents.
In the UK alone, at least 4 million people are suffering from such conditions, with some individuals suffering more than one. Internationally, it is now thought that cases of autoimmune illnesses are increasing by between 3% and 9% a year. Researchers believe that environmental triggers play a major role in this rise.
Lee who was located in Cambridge University, stated that genetics hasn't changed much in recent decades. It appears that something is going on in the outside world that is increasing our susceptibility to autoimmune diseases.
Vinuesa, a former student at the Australian National University, supported this idea. She pointed out that diet changes were happening as more countries adopted Western-style eating habits, and more people were buying fast food.
Vinuesa indicated that the lack of certain essential ingredients in fast-food food can result in a decrease in the intake of essential nutrients, like fibre.
These changes in our microbiomes trigger autoimmune disease, of which over 100 have been identified.
Both scientists stressed that individual susceptibilities were involved in contracting such illnesses, ailments that also comprise celiac diseases as well as lupus. Lupus causes swelling and inflammation, and may cause damage to different organs, including the heart.
"If you don't have a particular genetic susceptibility but you don't have to be at risk of developing an autoimmune disorder regardless of the amount of Big Macs you eat," said Vinuesa. "There's nothing we can do to stop the global growth of fast food franchises. Instead, our focus is in understanding the genetic mechanisms which cause autoimmune disorders and the reasons why certain people are more susceptible to the disease while others are not. We're determined to tackle this issue at the most fundamental levels.
Modern techniques mean that scientists are now able to identify small genetic differences across a wide range of individuals. This allows them to recognize common genetic patterns that are common to those suffering from an autoimmune disorder.
In the past we did not have the technology to do this, however, we're in a position to sequence DNA on a huge scale. This has completely changed everything, said Lee. When I started my research at the time, we had only a glimpse of 50% of the DNA variants which were linked to the onset of an inflammatory intestinal condition. Today, we have over 250.
Lee and Vinuesa have a particular focus of their energies on this type of research. They want to learn more about genetic pathways and find the causes of the various diseases they are studying. If you look at some auto-immune diseases like Lupus, for instance - it's been made clear that there are numerous different variants of themthat could be caused through different genetic pathways Vinuesa said. If you're trying find the best treatment, this can be an issue.
There are a lot of beneficial new treatments that are developing constantly, but we don't know what patients to recommend these treatments to because we now realise we aren't sure of the type of disease they have. That is why autoimmune research has become a major focus. It is crucial to know how to classify and categorize patients in order to give them the appropriate treatment.
Lee said that the escalating cases of autoimmune diseases across the globe meant that new therapies and medicines were required more than ever before. There are currently no treatments for autoimmune disease that typically affect young people, while they're trying to land their first job, graduate from school, and raise their families.
The result is that many more people will need surgeryor require regular injections for the rest their lives. It can be very challenging for patients and put stress on health care systems. We require innovative and effective treatment methods.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease, meaning it's due to the immune system attacking healthy tissue in the body. However, it's not clear what triggers it.
The immune system typically produces antibodies that attack viruses and bacteria, helping to fight infection.
If you suffer from Rheumatoid arthritis the immune system sends antibodies into your joints in the lining, which target the tissues around them.
This causes the tiny layer of cells (synovium) that covers your joints to become swollen and inflamed, which releases chemicals that damage nearby:
bones
Cartilage - The connective tissue that connects cartilage and bones
The tendons are the tissue which connects muscle to bone
ligaments - the tissue that connects bone and cartilage
If rheumatoid arthritis is not treated, the chemicals slowly cause the joint to change form and align. The chemicals can eventually cause the degeneration of the entire joint.
There are numerous theories as to why the immune system attacks joints, such as the Click here possibility of an infection as the trigger. However, none of them have been confirmed as true.
Possible risk factors
You could be more at risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis when you perform the following:
Your genes - Some evidence suggests that rheumatoid arthritis can be passed down in families. But, it's unlikely that you'll inherit the condition. Genetics are thought to play only a minor part in the.
Hormones – Rheumatoid arthritis is more prevalent in women than for males. Though this could be due in part to the effects hormone oestrogen has on the body, the cause has not been confirmed.
Smoking - Read More Evidence suggests that smokers are more likely to develop rheumatoidarthritis.