]Most people have never heard of autoimmune diseases but these disorders affect 50 million Americans and the count is growing exponentially. Autoimmune diseases are one of the top ten causes of death in women under the age of 65 and according to a report by the National Institute for Environmental Health Studies, they are number one.
According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), the term ‘autoimmune disease’ refers to a varied group of illnesses that involve almost every human organ system. It includes diseases of the nervous, gastrointestinal, and endocrine systems, as well as skin and other connective tissues, ears, eyes, blood and blood vessels.
There are over a hundred known disorders caused by a malfunction of the immune system including type 1 diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Meniere’s disease, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, cardiomyopathy, multiple sclerosis, ITP and vasculitis just to name a few.
In all of these diseases, the underlying problem is the same; the body’s immune system becomes misguided and attacks what it was originally designed to protect. Instead of attaching to and destroying harmful bacteria and viruses, the immune system targets healthy cells, tissues and organs and produces antibodies to attack them, resulting in a wide variety of disorders.
Virginia Ladd, president and executive director of AARDA said, “Autoimmune diseases are an under recognized significant health issue in the United States. Our policy makers and health care planners are not looking at this disease category with the attention it should get. Some health care professionals are not as knowledgeable as they should be about autoimmune diseases. Forty-three percent of patients are told they are chronic complainers or are just doctor shopping.”
In the not so distant past, doctors were unable to effectively treat their patients because no known medical reasons could be found for mystifying health problems encountered in their practice. Slowly, medical professionals are now becoming more aware of autoimmunity and are beginning to be more knowledgeable in this field. Instead of thinking a patient is imagining something; physicians are starting to look for an underlying cause for the problem.
Why should the body unexpectedly start producing an immune response destroying cells, tissues and organs? Scientists are still searching to find the answer to this mystery. It is known that there is a genetic link that increases a person’s chances of developing an autoimmune disease; however, heredity is not the only factor. There are also a number of other triggers playing a part such as bacteria, viruses, toxins, hormones, significant stress, some drugs and the latest find, environmental factors.
Ladd stated, “Autoimmune diseases are increasing and we think the environment is playing a role since autoimmune disorders have increased so much in the last decade. We know there is a genetic factor, but genes do not change that fast. Very little research has been done concerning this link; much more research is needed.”
More information on autoimmune disorders can be found at http://www.aarda.org and in the book, Heartaches and Miracles by Greta Burroughs.
Greta Burroughs, Autoimmune Diseases, The Silent Menace, Associated Content by Yahoo!