More and more people around the globe suffer because their immune systems can no discern between healthy cells and invading micro-organisms. Their organs and tissue are now being attacked by the disease defenses that they once had.
International research efforts are in place to stop this trend, for instance, a London-based initiative called the Francis Crick Institute, where two world-renowned experts, James Lee and Carola Vinuesa, have created separate research groups that will help pinpoint the precise causes of autoimmune disease, as these conditions are known.
Lee told the Observer the Observer that autoimmune diseases have increased in western countries in the past 40 years. There are now cases in countries that have never experienced such illnesses.
The Middle East, East Asia and Africa have seen the highest rise in inflammatory bowel disorder cases in recent years. They had never before experienced the disease.
Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatoidarthitis are all immune-mediated diseases. In each of these cases the immune system becomes confused and shifts to healthy tissue over infectious agents.
The UK is home to at least 4,000,000 individuals suffering from these ailments. There are also many other. Globally, it's thought that the number of autoimmune diseases is rising at a rate of between 3-9% per year. Researchers believe that environmental triggers are the primary reason for this increase.
Lee who was located in Cambridge University, stated that genetics has not changed over recent years. So something must be changing around the world in a manner that's increasing our susceptibility to the autoimmune disease.
Vinuesa who used to be situated at the Australian National University backed the notion. She pointed to the changes in food habits that were occurring as more and more nations adopted western-style eating habits and people ate more fast food.
Vinuesa explained that a few essential ingredients in fast food diets are missing which includes fiber. There is evidence to suggest that altering a person’s microbiome (the collection of microorganisms that we are able to digest) could result in an impairment in specific bodily functions.
These changes to our microbiomes then cause autoimmune diseases There are more than 100 types.
Both scientists stressed that individual vulnerability was a factor in the development of diseases like these, which also comprise celiac diseases as well as lupus. Lupus causes swelling and inflammation that can cause damage to various organs, such as the heart.
"If you don't possess a certain genetic susceptibility it is unlikely that you will develop an auto-immune disease, Read More no matter how many Big Macs you consume," said Vinuesa. "We can do little to stop the rapid growth of fast-food chains across the globe. Instead, we're trying understand the genetic mechanisms behind the autoimmune diseases and why some people Read More are at risk. This is how we want to tackle the issue."
This is made possible due to the development of techniques that allow researchers to detect tiny DNA differences across a large number of people. It allows us to identify the common genetic traits in people with autoimmune diseases.
Lee explained that the capability to sequence huge amounts of DNA has changed the way we do everything. We didn't have this technology until the last few years. My study revealed that there were around six DNA variants that were involved in the trigger of inflammatory bowel diseases. Now, we know about 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 which lead to these diseases. Vinuesa believes it's now evident that there are many types of autoimmune conditions, like Lupus. These may all be caused by different genetic pathways. This could have an adverse effect on your ability to find the right treatment.
There are many promising treatments that may be beneficial however, we do not have the appropriate patients. In reality we do not have the necessary information to determine if patients have the same condition. That is the goal of research into autoimmune diseases. In order to provide the appropriate treatment, we must learn how to categorize patients.
Lee said that there are now more autoimmune disorders than ever, and new therapies and medications are desperately needed. Lee said that today there's no cure for autoimmune disorders. They typically occur in teens who are trying to finish their education and get work.
This means that increasing numbers of people will have to undergo surgery or regular injections. It's a very stressful experience for patients and put stressing the health services. That's why we need to develop innovative and effective solutions.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune condition, which means it's caused by the immune system attacking healthy body tissues. We don't know what triggers it.
Your immune system usually produces antibodies that attack bacteria and viruses to combat infection.
Your immune system might accidentally send antibodies to joints when you have Rheumatoid. The antibodies attack surrounding tissue.
The thin layer (synovium), which covers your joints, can become inflamed and inflamed, releasing chemicals to cause harm.
bones
Cartilage is the connective tissue between bones which is made up of cartilage.
Tendons are the tissue that connects muscle to bone
Ligaments - The connective tissue between cartilage and bone
If rheumatoid isn't treated it will cause the joint to loose its shape. It could eventually lead to total destruction of the joint.
There have been many theories about the reason why the immune system attacks the joints. For example the possibility of an infection could be the trigger. However , none of these theories is proven.
Possible risk factors
Rheumatoid-related arthritis may be caused by a variety of causes, including:
your genes - there's some evidence that rheumatoid arthritis can run in families, although the chance of inheritance is believed to be minimal as genes are only thought to play a tiny part in the disease
Hormones Rheumatoid arthritis can be more prevalent for women than for males. Though this could be due to the effect of the hormone oestrogen on the body, it hasn't been proven.
Smoking - Some evidence suggests that smokers are at a higher risk of developing rheumatoidarthritis.