An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a normal body part. On this condition your immune system mistakenly attacks your body, the immune system mistakes part of your body like your joints or skin, as foreign. It releases proteins called auto-antibodies that attack healthy cells.
This article is a continuation of my previous post named
'Facts about Autoimmune disease', on that post I explained in and out about this
disease including symptoms, signs, causes and it's treatments. To read that
post CLICK HERE.
Some autoimmune diseases target
only one organ like Type 1 diabetes which damages the pancreas. Other diseases,
like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), affect the whole body. There are more
than 80 different autoimmune diseases. The following are 15 of the most
commons;
1. Inflammatory bowel disease
(IBD)
Refer to the conditions that cause
inflammation in the lining of the intestinal wall. Each type of IBD affects a
different part of the Gastrointestinal tract (GI tract). IBD is an umbrella
term used to describe disorders that involve chronic inflammation of your
digestive tract. Types of IBD include Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease
Ulcerative colitis. This condition
causes long-lasting inflammation and sores (ulcers) in the innermost lining of
your large intestine (colon) and rectum (any part of the GI tract, from the
mouth to the anus)
Crohn's disease. This type of IBD
is characterized by inflammation of the lining of your digestive tract, which
often spreads deep into affected tissues (only the lining of the large
intestine (colon) and rectum)
2. Addison’s disease
It affects the adrenal glands,
which produce the hormones cortisol and aldosterone as well as androgen hormones.
Having too little of cortisol can affect the way the body uses and stores
carbohydrates and sugar (glucose). Deficiency of aldosterone will lead to
sodium loss and excess potassium in the bloodstream. It's symptoms include
weakness, fatigue, weight loss, and low blood sugar.
3. Graves’ disease
It attacks the thyroid gland in
the neck, causing it to produce too much of its hormones. Thyroid hormones
control the body’s
energy usage, known as metabolism. Having too much of these hormones revs up
your body’s activities, causing
symptoms like nervousness, a fast heartbeat, heat intolerance, and weight loss.
The most common symptom is bulging eyes which also called exophthalmos.
4. Sjögren’s syndrome
This condition attacks the glands
that provide lubrication to the eyes and mouth. The hallmark symptoms of Sjögren’s syndrome are dry eyes and dry
mouth, but it may also affect the joints or skin. On this condition the body's
immune system attacks its own healthy cells that produce saliva and tears. Sjögren's syndrome often occurs
with other such disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
5. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
It is also known as chronic
lymphocytic thyroiditis or Hashimoto's disease, Occurs when the immune system
attacks the thyroid gland in the neck, initially, inflammation of the thyroid
causes a leak resulting in excess thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism). Over
time, the inflammation prevents the thyroid from producing enough hormones
(hypothyroidism), meaning that thyroid hormone production slows to a
deficiency. Symptoms include weight gain, sensitivity to cold, fatigue, hair
loss, and swelling of the thyroid (goiter).
6. Myasthenia gravis
It affects nerve impulses that
help the brain control the muscles. When the communication from nerves to muscles
is impaired, signals can’t
direct the muscles to contract.
The most common symptom is muscle
weakness that gets worse with activity and improves with rest. Often muscles
that control eye movements, eyelid opening, swallowing, and facial movements are
involved.
7. Vasculitis
Autoimmune vasculitis or
'Vasculitis' happens when the immune system attacks blood vessels. The
inflammation that cause narrowing of the arteries and veins, allowing less
blood to flow through them.
It means that, the inflammation of
the blood vessels cause changes in the blood vessel walls as a result vessel
walls thicken and narrow, cutting off vital blood supply to tissues and organs.
8. Pernicious anemia
This condition causes deficiency
of a protein, made by stomach lining cells, known as intrinsic factor that is
needed in order for the small intestine to absorb vitamin B-12 from food.
Without enough of this vitamin, one will develop an anemia because of decreasing
amount of red blood cells when the body can't absorb enough vitamin B12. Common
causes include a weakened stomach lining or an auto-immune condition. Also this
condition cause the reduction of the body’s
ability to synthesize DNA.
Pernicious anemia is more common
in older adults. According to a 2012 study, it affects 0.1 percent of people in
general, but nearly 2 percent of people over age 60.
9. Celiac disease
An immune reaction to eating
gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye and other grain products.
People with celiac disease can’t
eat foods containing gluten. When gluten is in the small intestine, the immune
system attacks this part of the gastrointestinal tract and causes inflammation.
Over time, the immune reaction to
eating gluten creates inflammation that damages the small intestine's lining, leading
to medical complications. It also prevents absorption of some nutrients
(malabsorption).
10. Alopecia areata
Alopecia areata is a an autoimmune
disease that often results in unpredictable hair loss, hair falls out in small
patches around the size of a quarter. For most people, the hair loss is nothing
more than a few patches, though in some cases it can be more extreme.
Also the disease can lead to the
complete loss of hair on the scalp (alopecia totalis) or, can affect the entire
body (alopecia universalis). The condition can affect anyone
regardless of age and gender, though most cases occur before the age of 30. To know much more about Alopecia areata disease CLICK HERE.
11. Type 1 diabetes
Occurs when the immune system
attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
The pancreas produces the hormone
insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar levels.
High blood sugar results can lead
to damage in the blood vessels, as well as organs like the heart, kidneys,
eyes, and nerves.
12. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
Occurs when the immune system
attacks the joints. This attack causes redness, warmth, soreness, and stiffness
in the joints. Unlike osteoarthritis, which commonly affects people as they get
older, RA can start as early as your 30s or sooner.
13. Psoriasis / psoriatic arthritis
Psoriasis causes skin cells to
multiply too quickly. The extra cells build up and form inflamed red patches,
commonly with silver-white scales of plaque on the skin. Skin cells normally
grow and then shed when they’re
no longer needed.
Up to 30 percent of people with
psoriasis also develop swelling, stiffness, and pain in their joints. This form
of the disease is called psoriatic arthritis.
14. Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) damages
the myelin sheath, the protective coating that surrounds nerve cells, in your
central nervous system. Damage to the myelin sheath slows the transmission
speed of messages between your brain and spinal cord to and from the rest of
your body.
This damage can lead to symptoms
like numbness, weakness, balance issues, and trouble walking. The disease comes
in several forms that progress at different rates.
15. Systemic lupus erythematosus
(SLE)
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
is a chronic disease that causes inflammation in connective tissues, such as
cartilage and the lining of blood vessels, which provide strength and
flexibility to structures throughout the body.
Systemic lupus erythematosus
(SLE), also known simply as 'lupus', is an autoimmune disease in which the
body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the
body. Previous 'lupus' was described as a skin disease because of the rash it
commonly produces, the systemic form, which is most the common, actually
affects many organs, including the joints, kidneys, brain, and heart. Symptoms
vary between people and may be mild to severe, which include Joint pain,
fatigue, and rashes.
CONCLUSION
There are at least 80 different
autoimmune diseases known, the above diseases are just few and most of them can
be treated, unfortunately, there is no known prevention for most autoimmune
diseases, and this includes type 1 diabetes. On my previous article named
'Facts about autoimmune diseases' I explained deeply about these diseases
including Causes, symptoms, signs and treatments. To read that article CLICKHERE.
If you've any opinion about this
article, let me know by leaving your comment below.
Posted by: Lusubilo A. Mwaijengo
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