WHAT IS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE OR DISORDER?

WHAT IS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE OR DISORDER?

Your immune system fights against infections from viruses and bacteria. But some people's immune system can attack their own body by mistake. When that happens, it can create an autoimmune disease or disorder (disease and disorder mean the same thing here). 

No one is sure why that happens, but we do know that autoimmune disorders 

  • Can attack different tissues (the intestine in inflammatory bowel disease; the pancreas in diabetes, the joints in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, as examples
  • Run in families 
  • Are more common in women
  • Can result in inflammation
  • Can flare at times and go into remission
  • Can occur together (a patient with diabetes type 1 is more likely to have celiac disease, for example)    

More than 80 types of autoimmune disorders are known. Some have similar symptoms and some respond to similar medicines that are used to reduce your immune response. Steroids, immune modulators and anti-TNFs are all used to treat autoimmune disorders like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.

This article, as well as all others, was reviewed and edited by a member of our Medical Advisory Board.

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