Around the world, people suffer more from pain due to the fact that their immune systems cannot distinguish between healthy cells and invading microorganisms. They are now being attacked by defenses against disease that were previously used to protect the body from infection.
A number of major international research efforts are in place to combat this trend - including an initiative at London's Francis Crick Institute, where two world experts, James Lee and Carola Vinuesa have established separate research groups that will help determine the exact causes of autoimmune disease and other conditions. recognized as such.
Lee explained that autoimmune diseases are on the rise since the past 40 years in the West. There are new cases in countries where these conditions have never been seen before.
For instance for instance, the Middle East and East Asia are the areas with the most cases of inflammatory bowel disease. They'd never heard of this disease before.
Autoimmune diseases can range from type 1 diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis. Each case is different. In each instance the immune system is crossing its wires, and it switches to healthy tissues, not infectious agents.
At least four million people living in the UK have been affected by these diseases. Other people may have more than one. Globally, it is believed that the incidence of autoimmune disease is increasing by 3 to 9 percent annually. Many scientists believe environmental factors are a major reason for this increase.
Lee who was formerly situated at Cambridge University, stated that our genetic makeup has not changed over the past few years. There must be something outside that's causing our predisposition to autoimmune disease.
Vinuesa was the person who supported this idea. Vinuesa was previously at the Australian National University. She outlined the shifts in food habits as more countries were adopting western eating habits, and people consumed much more fast-food.
Diets that focus on fast food lack some vital ingredients, for instance fiber, and research suggests that this can affect a person's microbiome - the collection of micro-organisms that are found within our guts and that play a key role in regulating the various body functions, Vinuesa explained.
Changes in microbiomes could then trigger autoimmune disorders. More than 100 types of autoimmune disorders have been discovered.
Both researchers stressed that there are individual susceptibilities to the diseases. This includes celiac as well as Lupus. It causes inflammation and swelling, and may cause harm and even death to various organs, such as the heart.
Vinuesa says that an individual who doesn't suffer from a genetic susceptibility will not get an autoimmune condition, regardless of the amount of Big Macs they consume. "There's nothing we can prevent the world-wide spread of fast food franchises. Instead, we are focusing on the genetic factors that cause autoimmune diseases. We want to know what makes certain individuals more susceptible to autoimmune diseases than others. This is the method we are using to tackle the issue."
This task is possible thanks to the development of techniques that allow researchers to identify tiny differences in DNA across a large number of people. This allows us to find common genetic patterns in patients suffering from autoimmune diseases.
Lee states that even though we had tools to sequence DNA a large extent until recently but it was not feasible. When I first began my research at the time, we had only a glimpse of half of Read More the DNA variations that are involved in the development of inflammation in the intestines. Today, we have more than 250.
Lee and Vinuesa concentrate their efforts on this kind of research. They are keen to find out more about genetic pathways that are involved and discover the root causes of different diseases they're studying. Vinuesa has stated that there are a variety of variants of autoimmune diseases, including Lupus. This can make it challenging to identify the appropriate treatment.
While there are a myriad of beneficial new treatments in the pipeline, we don't yet know what people they ought to be given to. This is due to the fact that we do not know the specific type of condition. This is one of the major goals in research into autoimmune diseases. We have to learn how to categorize and stratify patients so that we can give them the right treatment.
Lee said that the increasing prevalence of autoimmune diseases across the globe meant that innovative therapies and medications were needed urgently. Lee said that currently there is no cure for autoimmune diseases. They are most often seen in young adults who are trying to finish their studies and secure work.
This means that more and more of people will need undergo surgery or receive regular injections. This can be extremely stressful for patients as well as an enormous strain on health services. We need new and effective treatments.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune conditionthat is due to the immune system attacking healthy tissue in the body. We don't know the triggers for it.
Your immune system normally produces antibodies that attack bacteria and viruses in order to fight off infection.
Your immune system could mistakenly send antibodies to joints when you have rheumatoid. These antibodies attack the tissues around them.
The delicate layer of cells (synovium), that covers your joints, becomes inflamed and swollen.
bones
Cartilage - The connective tissue that connects bones and cartilage
The tendons are the tissue which connects muscle to bone
Ligaments - This is the tissue that connects the cartilage to bones.
If the issue is not treated, it could lead to the loss of alignment and form. Eventually, it can destroy the joint completely.
There have been a variety of theories as to why the immune system attacks joints. One theory is that an infection could trigger. However, none of these theories have been proved.
Possible risk factors
There are many things that may increase your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, for example:
Genetics - Some evidence suggests that rheumatoid joint disease Check out can be passed down in families. It is not likely that you'll inherit the disease. Genetics are thought to play only a minor role in it.
Hormone-Rheumatoid Ailment is more frequent for women than men. It could be due to the estrogenic effects, but it isn't proven.
Smoking is a risk factor. Some research suggests that smokers are more at risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis.