The immune system of a lot of people are unable to differentiate between healthy cells and invader micro-organisms. This is leading to more suffering across the globe. Instead of protecting themselves from illness the organs and tissues are attacked by the same defenses.
This issue is being tackled by large international research efforts. One instance of this initiative is the London's Francis Crick Institute. Two world experts, James Lee (from the Americas) as well as Carola Vinuesa (from Italy) have formed separate research groups to pinpoint the root cause of the problem.
Lee stated that cases of autoimmune disease are increasing since around 40 years ago, in the west. However, we are now witnessing some cases emerge in countries that had never seen the disease before.
The Middle East and East Asia have seen the highest increase in cases of inflammatory bowel disorders. They'd never seen the condition before.
Type 1 diabetes may be accompanied by rheumatoid and multiple sclerosis. In each case the immune system becomes confused and shifts to healthy tissues over the pathogens that cause infection.
There are at least 4,000,000 people with autoimmune conditions in the UK, and some suffer from more than one. Globally, it's thought that the number of autoimmune disorders is increasing at a rate of between 3 to 9 percent per year. Most scientists believe the environment plays a significant part in this increase.
Lee, who was previously at Cambridge University, says that human genetics hasn’t changed over the past decade. There must be a change around the world in a way that is leading to an increase in our risk of developing autoimmune disease.
Vinuesa was the one who supported this idea. Vinuesa was previously at the Australian National University. She noted that there were changes in the diet because more people were eating western-style meals, as well as more fast food.
Vinuesa explained that a few essential ingredients in fast food diets aren't present, including fiber. It is known that altering the microbiome (the assortment of microorganisms and microbes we are able to digest) could result in the loss of specific bodily functions.
The changes in our microbiomes can trigger an autoimmune disease, and over 100 types have been identified.
They both pointed out the significance of each individual's vulnerability to developing these diseases. Lupus and celiac disease are two other diseases that can cause swelling and inflammation, which can cause damage to different organs, which includes your heart.
"If you don't possess a particular genetic susceptibility but you don't have to be at risk of developing an autoimmune disorder regardless of how many Big Macs consume," said Vinuesa. "There is not a lot we can do to slow the worldwide spread of fast-food franchises. Instead, we're focused on the genetic elements that trigger autoimmune disorders. We are trying to understand what makes certain individuals more susceptible than others. This is the way we intend to solve the problem."
Scientists are now able to spot tiny variations in DNA between large numbers of people. This is possible due to the development of the development of new methods. This allows us to find common genetic patterns among patients suffering from autoimmune diseases.
Lee claims that, although we had the technology for sequencing DNA up to the point of being able to sequence DNA, until recent but it was not feasible. When I started my research, we only knew about half of the DNA variants which were linked to the onset of an inflammatory intestinal condition. Today, we have over 250.
Lee and Vinuesa focus their efforts on this kind of research. They seek to understand more about the genetic pathway and find the causes of the diverse diseases they study. If you take a look at a variety of auto-immune diseases like the lupus disease - it's been made clear that there are many different versions of them, that may be caused by different genetic pathways, Vinuesa explained. This could have a negative impact on your ability to determine the best treatment.
We are blessed with a wealth of useful new therapies that are being developed all the time, but we don't know which patients to give these treatments to because we now realise we don't know exactly which version of the disease they have. This is an important aspect in autoimmune research. It is essential to learn how to categorize and group patients so that you can give them the appropriate treatment.
Lee said that with the increase in autoimmune diseases across the globe, new treatments and medications are needed more urgently than ever. He said that there is at present no treatment for autoimmune disorders. These often are seen in children when they are trying to finish their studies, get a job, and start families.
This means that more people will have to undergo surgery or frequent injections during their life. This could be very stressful for patients, and put a massive pressure on healthcare. Therefore, it is crucial to find new, effective treatment options.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease. It's caused when the immune system attacks healthy body tissues. However, it's not yet identified what causes this.
Your immune system normally produces antibodies to fight off bacteria and viruses in order to fight off infection.
If you suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis the immune system transmits antibodies to your joints in the lining, which attack the surrounding tissues.
This causes the thin layer, or synovium of cells that surround your joints to become painful. In addition, it releases chemicals that could cause injury nearby.
bones
Cartilage - The stretchy connective tissue connecting bones
The tendons are the tissue that connects muscle and bone
Ligaments - The connective tissue between cartilage and bone
These chemicals can cause rheumatoid joint harm if it isn't addressed. The chemicals may eventually cause the degeneration of the joint in its entirety.
There have been many theories as to why the immune Click here response targets Check out joints. For instance an infection could be a trigger. However none of these theories has been proven.
Possible risk factors
You could be at greater risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis If you don't take the steps listed below:
the genes you carry - there's evidence to suggest that arthritis may be passed down in families, though the chance of inheritance is believed to be minimal since genes are believed to play a small influence on the condition.
Hormones – Rheumatoid arthritis is more common for women than men. Although this may be due to the impact of the hormone oestrogen on the body, the cause has not been confirmed.
smoking. Some evidence suggests that people who smoke have a higher chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis