A lot of people across the world are suffering with an immune system that can't discern between healthy cells, invader bacteria, and diseases. They are being attacked by the immune defenses to diseases that were once there to guard them.
Major international research efforts are being made to fight this trend - such as an initiative in London's Francis Crick Institute, where two world-renowned experts, James Lee and Carola Vinuesa, have created distinct research groups to determine the exact reasons behind autoimmune diseases, as these conditions are known.
Lee explained that autoimmune diseases have been on the rise since around 40 years ago in the West. There are new cases in countries where these diseases have not been seen before.
For instance it is the Middle East and East Asia are the regions that have the highest number of cases of inflammatory intestinal disease. They'd never heard of the disease before.
Type 1 diabetes can be caused by rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. In each case, your immune system becomes confused and switches to healthy tissue over infectious agents.
At least 4 million people suffering from autoimmune diseases in the UK, and some suffer from more than one. In the world, it's believed that the prevalence of autoimmune disorders is increasing at the rate of 3 to 9 percent per year. Many scientists believe that the environment plays a significant factor in this growth.
Lee who was previously employed in Cambridge University, said that the human genetics of human beings has not changed over the last few decades. There's got to be something external that's responsible for our predisposition for autoimmune disease.
Vinuesa agreed with the idea having worked previously in the Australian National University. She noted that there were shifts in diets when more people ate western meals, and increasing consumption of fast food.
Vinuesa said that some vital components of fast food diets are not present which includes fiber. It is known to suggest that changing the microbiome of a person (the collection of microorganisms that we are able to digest) could result in the loss of certain bodily functions.
The changes in our microbiomes then trigger autoimmune disorders that are of more than 100 types.
The two scientists emphasized that there were individual susceptibilities to these illnesses. It includes celiac and Lupus. It causes inflammation, swelling, and may cause damage and death to various organs, including the heart.
Vinuesa said that autoimmune disorders are not something you can develop if you don't have a specific genetic susceptibility. There's nothing we can do about the expansion of fast-food chains across the globe. Instead, we're trying to understand the genetic mechanisms behind autoimmune disease and why certain people are at risk. This is how we want to solve the problem."
With the development of technology, researchers are now in a position to detect small differences in people's DNA. This is how it is possible to identify common genetic patterns in those with an auto-immune disease.
In the past we did not have the technology to do this, however, we're in a position to sequence DNA on a huge scale. This has completely changed everything, said Lee. When I started my research, we only knew about half of the DNA variants that were implicated in triggering inflammatory intestinal disease. We now know about 250.
Lee and Vinuesa are working on this research because they wish to learn more about how genetic pathways function and the underlying causes of the diverse diseases that doctors are currently looking into. Vinuesa said there could be multiple versions of certain autoimmune disorders, like Lupus. If you're trying find the most effective treatment for your condition, this can be an issue.
There are many promising therapies that could be useful but we don't have the appropriate patients. In reality we don't have the data we require to determine if patients have the same condition. That is the goal of research into autoimmune diseases. We must learn to classify and stratify patients so that we can give them the right treatment.
Lee stressed that the rising prevalence of autoimmune diseases across the world meant that new treatment and drugs were needed urgently. There is currently no treatment for autoimmune disorders, which often occur in young peoplewho are trying to get their first job, complete the school year, and also raise their families.
This means that more people are going to need surgeryor require regular injections for the remainder of their lives. This can be a nightmare for patients as well as a significant burden on health care services. It is therefore essential to discover effective and innovative methods of treatment.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. This means the immune system is attacking healthy tissue. However, it's not yet identified what causes this.
The antibodies that your immune system creates to fight bacteria and viruses are the ones you require to fight infection.
If you have rheumatoid, your immune system misdirectly sends antibodies towards the joint's lining and attack the adjacent tissue.
The thin layer, or synovium of cells that covers your joints to become painful. The synovium also releases chemicals that can cause injury nearby.
bones
Cartilage - The connective tissue stretchy that connects bones
Tendons - The muscle tissue that connects bone and muscle
Ligaments – The tissues that connect bone and cartilage
If rheumatoid arthritis does not get treated, these chemicals slowly cause the joint to lose its shape and alignment. It could eventually lead to complete destruction of the joint.
There have been a variety of theories Read More as to why the immune system attacks joints. One theory is that an infection might trigger. However, none of these theories have been confirmed.
Possible risk factors
There are a variety of factors which can increase your chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis including:
You can inherit it from your genes. There are signs that rheumatoid arthritis may be passed through Read More families but the odds of developing it are slim because genes play a tiny role in the disease.
Hormones Rheumatoid Arthritis are more common for women than in men. This could be due to the effects of the hormone Oestrogen. But, the link has yet to be proven.
smoking cigarettes - some research suggests that smokers are at a higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.