feature article
Healing the Immune System
Autoimmune Breakthroughs Offer New Hope by April Thompson
Some 23 million Americans suffer from one or more autoimmune diseases—a category comprised of more than 80 conditions, including fibromyalgia, Hashimoto’s disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and Type 1 diabetes. These pernicious disorders are notoriously difficult to diagnose, even harder to treat and can be debilitating, diminishing the quality of life for sufferers. Another commonality is the increased prevalence of autoimmune disease in women versus men; in the case of lupus, for example, a nine-fold difference. Some early indicators are that this may be related to a “gene dosage effect”, as men with XXY chromosomes have the same risk of developing lupus as other women, and women with XXX chromosomes (known in medical parlance as “superwomen”) have
an even higher risk of autoimmune disease, according to Judith James, chair of the Arthritis & Clinical Immunology Program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, in Oklahoma City. Yet there is hope on the horizon, as scientific discoveries unlock important insights about the manifestation and progression of autoimmune diseases leading to new treatments and prevention tips. Evidence is also mounting around the role of diet and lifestyle in autoimmune conditions, giving patients new avenues for taking charge of their health instead of simply waiting for a cure. Autoimmune diseases are chronic and can affect almost any part of the body, including the heart, brain, muscles, skin, eyes, joints, lungs, kidneys, glands, digestive tract and blood vessels. Each disease
carries its own set of symptoms, but inflammation is nearly always present, and are all connected by how the immune system attacks the body’s healthy tissues. “Those shared characteristics hold the potential for shared treatments, and ultimately potentially common cures,” says Jane Buckner, president of the Benaroya Research Institute (BRI), at Virginia Mason, in Seattle, which works to advance the prediction, prevention, reversal and cure of immune system diseases. “I’m excited about our progress toward prevention. We are working to understand those tipping points in transitioning into disease that help us understand who is at highest risk, and helps give very directed therapies,” says James.
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