The majority of people in the world suffer with an immune system that can't differentiate between healthy cells invading bacteria, or diseases. Disease defences that once protected them are now attacking their tissue and organs.
International research is being undertaken to combat the growing trend. This includes an initiative at London’s Francis Crick Institute where two world experts, James Lee, and Carola Vinuesa have created separate research groups to identify the root causes of autoimmune diseases.
Lee explained that autoimmune diseases are on the rise since around 40 years ago, in the west. However, these illnesses are now being seen in nations that haven't seen them before.
The Middle East and East Asia are experiencing the greatest increase in cases of inflammatory bowel disease. They had never before had the disease before.
Type 1 diabetes is one of the autoimmune disorders. Other conditions include rheumatoid, inflammation of the bowel, and multiple sclerosis. In all cases, your immune system becomes confused and shifts to healthy tissues over infective agents.
The UK has at least 4,000,000 individuals suffering from these ailments. There are many other. In the world, it's believed that the incidence of autoimmune diseases are rising by between 3% and 9% a year. Many researchers believe that environmental factors play a major role in this rise.
Lee, who previously worked at Cambridge University, said that the human genetic makeup has not changed over the last few decades. So something must be changing in the outside world and it's increasing our predisposition to autoimmune disease.
Vinuesa who used to be based at Australia National University supported the concept. She noted that there had been changes in the diet because more people were eating western-style meals and increased consumption of fast food.
Vinuesa explained that a few essential components of fast food diets are not present such as fibre. There is evidence that altering a person’s microbiome (the assortment of microorganisms we have in our digestive tract) could result in an impairment in certain body functions.
The changes in our microbiomes then cause autoimmune diseases that are of over 100 different types.
Both scientists stressed that there are individual susceptibilities to the diseases. This includes celiac, as well as Lupus. It triggers inflammation, swelling, and could cause damage and death to various organs, such as the heart.
Vinuesa stated, "If there is no genetic susceptibility to an autoimmune disorder will not always be a concern, regardless of how many Big Macs you consume." "There's not much we can do to stop the global expansion of fast food chains. Instead, we're trying to to understand the genetic causes of autoimmune disease and why certain people are at risk. "We are trying to address the issue on a fundamental level."
Thanks to modern techniques, researchers are now able to pinpoint tiny differences in DNA between large numbers of individuals. This makes it possible to identify common genetic patterns among arthritis rheumatoid associates those suffering from an autoimmune disorder.
Lee said that until very recent, we didn't have the tools to identify DNA. Now, we have this amazing power and it has changed everything. When I began researching in the early 1990s, we knew only about half of the DNA variants that were implicated in triggering inflammatory intestinal disease. Now, we know about 250.
This is the heart of Lee's and Vinuesa’s work. They are trying to understand the different ways that genetic pathways work and discover the diverse kinds of diseases that scientists are currently researching. Vinuesa has stated that there are numerous variants of autoimmune diseases, like Lupus. This could have a negative influence on your ability find the right treatment.
There are a lot of new treatments that may be beneficial but we don't have the appropriate patients. In reality, we don’t have the necessary information to determine if patients have the same illness. This is why research into autoimmune diseases has become a priority. It is important to understand how to classify and categorize patients so that you can give them the appropriate treatment.
Lee also stated that there are now more autoimmune disorders than ever before, and the development of new drugs and treatments are desperately needed. It is not possible to treat autoimmune illnesses. This is especially true when people are young and trying to finish college or get their first job, and also have families.
That means growing numbers of patients are scheduled for surgery or be required to receive regular injections for the rest of their lives. This is a difficult time for patients and can put an immense pressure on the health system. This is the reason we have to come up with innovative, efficient solutions.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an immuno-mediated disorder. It's an unanswered question.
Your immune system usually produces antibodies to fight off bacteria and viruses in order to combat infection.
If you have Rheumatoid Arthritis the immune system sends antibodies into your joints in the lining, which target the tissues around them.
The delicate layer of cells (synovium) that covers your joints, is prone to inflammation and sore.
bones
Cartilage – The stretchy connective tissue connecting bones
Tendons are the connective tissue between bone and muscle.
Ligaments are the connective tissue between bone and cartilage.
If the problem isn't treated, it could result in the loss of alignment and form. The chemicals may eventually lead to the degeneration of the joint in its entirety.
There are many theories about why the immune system attacks joints, such as the possibility of an infection as an trigger. However, none of them has been proven to be true.
Possible risk factors
There are many things that increase the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis such as:
You can inherit it from your genes. Although there are some indicators that suggest that rheumatoidarthritis could be passed through families, the chances of getting it are slim because genes play a minor role in the condition.
Hormones – Rheumatoid arthritis is more Check out prevalent for women than men. While this could be due in part to the effects estrogenic hormones on the body, it hasn't been confirmed.
Smoking is a risk factor. Some research suggests that smokers are more at chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis.