In the world, more and more and more people suffer from the inability of their immune systems to differentiate between healthy cells or invaders microscopic organisms. The defenses against diseases that were once protecting them are instead attacking their organs and tissue.
International research is being undertaken to counter this trend. This includes a project at London's Francis Crick Institute where two world experts, James Lee, and Carola Vinuesa have created separate research groups that will determine the causes behind autoimmune disorders.
Numbers of autoimmune cases began to increase about 40 years ago in the west, Lee told the Observer. However, we are now seeing some emerge in nations that have never experienced the disease before.
For instance, the most recent spike in the number of inflammatory bowel disease cases is located in the Middle East and east Asia. They'd never seen the condition before.
Type 1 diabetes may be accompanied by rheumatoid and multiple sclerosis. In each of these cases the immune system becomes confused and shifts to healthy tissues over infective agents.
The UK has at most 4 million people who have these conditions. There are also many others. According to global estimates the amount of people suffering from autoimmune diseases is rising by anywhere from 3% to nine percent per year. Many scientists believe that environmental factors play an important factor in this growth.
Human genetics hasn't changed in the past few decades, claimed Lee, who was previously located at Cambridge University. Therefore, something is changing outside of our body that could increase our vulnerability to developing an autoimmune condition.
Vinuesa was in favor of the idea, she was a former employee in the Australian National University. She noted that the changes in diets were occurring when more nations adopted Western-style eating habits, and more people were buying fast food items.
Diets that focus on fast food lack some vital ingredients, for instance fibre. Evidence suggests that this can affect a person's microbiome - the group of micro-organisms are found in our gut and which play an important role in controlling different bodily functions, Vinuesa said.
The microbiome's changes can then trigger autoimmune diseases. More than 100 different types of autoimmune diseases have been identified.
The scientists both stressed that each person is at risk of developing these illnesses, which include celiac, Lupus, and various other illnesses like celiac which trigger inflammation and swelling and can cause serious harm to different organs.
Vinuesa says that an individual who doesn't suffer from a genetic susceptibility will not get an autoimmune disease regardless of how many Big Macs they eat. "There's not much we can do to stop the global spread of fast food franchises. So instead, we are trying to unravel the genetic causes that cause the development of autoimmune diseases, and makes some individuals susceptible, while others are not. We want to tackle the issue at the level of."
Due to the advances in technology, scientists are in a position to detect small differences in people's DNA. In this way, it is possible to determine common genetic patterns among those suffering from an autoimmune disease.
Lee stated that we didn't have the technology to sequence DNA until recently. In the present, we have the amazing ability to sequence DNA on huge scales. This is a major improvement to our daily lives. My study revealed Click here that there were around six DNA variations that are involved in the development of inflammatory bowel diseases. Now we know of over 250.
Lee and Vinuesa have been conducting this studies since the beginning of. Their goals are to understand the different types of disease which doctors are currently studying and uncover the genetic pathways that cause these diseases. Vinuesa believes it's now clear that there are various types of autoimmune diseases like Lupus. These may all be caused by different genetic pathways. This can have a negative impact on your ability to determine the best treatment.
There are a lot of beneficial new treatments that are developing constantly, but we don't know which patients to give the treatments, as we've come to realize that we don't know exactly which form of the disease they suffer from. That is why autoimmune research has become a major focus. It is crucial to know how to stratify and group patients so that you can give them the right therapy.
Lee explained that, with the increase in autoimmune diseases across the globe, new treatments and drugs are now needed more urgently than ever before. Lee said there was at present no treatment for autoimmune disorders. These tend to develop in young people when they are trying to finish their education, find an employment, and begin families.
This means that a growing amount of people need surgery or require injections regularly throughout the rest of their lives. This can be very difficult for patients, and puts a strain on health care systems. That's why we need to find innovative, effective treatments.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune condition, which means it's due to the immune system attacking healthy body Check out tissues. This is an unanswered question.
Your immune system naturally creates antibodies to fight viruses and bacteria.
If you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system misdirectly issuing antibodies towards the lining of your joint which is where they attack the tissues surrounding it.
This causes the thin, cell-like layer covering your joints (synovium) to become irritated and painful this releases chemicals that cause harm around the joint.
bones
Cartilage, the connective tissue that connects bones.
Tendons, the tissue connecting muscles to bone
Ligaments - This is the tissue that connects the cartilage to bones.
If rheumatoid disease isn't treated and the chemicals are not addressed, they slowly make the joint to loose its shape. It could eventually lead to complete destruction of the joint.
There are many theories about why the immune response attacks the joints. For example the possibility of an infection could be the trigger. However , none of these theories has been proven.
Possible risk factors
You could be at greater risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis if you do not take these steps:
The genes. There are indications that rheumatoid-related arthritis may be a family trait. However, since genes play a tiny part in the condition's development it is not a high likelihood of it being passed on to the next generation.
Hormones Rheumatoid Arthritis is much more prevalent for women than in men. This could result from the effect of Oestrogen. But, the link has yet to be proven.
smoking. Some evidence suggests that those who smoke have a higher chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis