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Autoimmune DiseasesThe body's immune system sometimes targets its own cells and tissues, resulting in over 100 distinct conditions known as autoimmune diseases. They include Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. Some autoimmune diseases occur when the body attacks just one organ or tissue, while others are systemic. Roughly 15 million people in the US have an autoimmune disease, and for still unknown reasons about one-third of those individuals have multiple autoimmune conditions. Other unknowns include why these conditions disproportionately affect women and why they cause such varied symptoms. Autoimmune diseases are typically treated with immunosuppressant drugs and steroids. But recently, CAR-T therapies—originally used for cancer—are showing promise in early clinical trials. These gene-engineered therapies target antigens on problem-causing B cells, wiping out enough of them to apparently restore immune system tolerance. Other cutting-edge experimental approaches target the gut microbiome, seeking to reduce inflammation and disease by altering the gut flora via modifying diets or fecal transplants. GLP-1 drugs are also a recent focus due to early data suggesting they could combat inflammation linked to autoimmune diseases and also reduce symptom flare-ups.Explore Autoimmune Diseases

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GLP-1s are netting interest for treating autoimmune diseases, but are considered experimentalAlready used to treat type 2 diabetes, the novel medications are showing some early promise in experimental studies at reducing inflammation and treating autoimmune conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel conditions. But researchers caution that side effects are still under investigation—rarely the medication has caused lupus, an autoimmune disease. Medical News Today Many patients with psoriasis develop other autoimmune diseases, tooA small study published in 2024 found that nearly three-quarters of patients with psoriasis—a condition in which the body attacks healthy skin cells—also developed autoimmune disorders including thyroid diseases, connective tissue diseases, and more, suggesting such connections between these autoimmune disorders warrant further exploration. AJMC Almost 80% of people diagnosed with autoimmune diseases are womenYet it's still unanswered what may account for that difference. To better understand this disparity researchers are exploring factors including hormonal changes that occur around puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, as well as gut microbe differences, and aspects of X-chromosome protein-coding genes. (Some users may encounter a paywall.) Scientific American Learn about the more than 100 known autoimmune diseasesExplore this resource with summaries and related resources for the dozens of autoimmune diseases defined in the medical literature. Many of these disease write-ups also have interviews with a patient with the disorder—offering a personal take about challenges, advice, and lifestyle effects. Autoimmune Association Why CAR-T therapy has become one of the main focus areas for autoimmune diseasesThe therapy, originally targeting cancer, involves taking a patient's own T cells, genetically reprogramming them to recognize and attack a specific target and then infusing them back into patients. For autoimmune diseases, the therapy instead programs them to target immune cells that are causing problems, restoring immune system tolerance. PBS Autoimmune diseases affect between 5% and 10% of people worldwide, but their causes remain unknownAutoantibodies—which attack the body—may be detectable in the body years before a patient develops symptoms, but some people may have detectable levels yet never go on to develop an autoimmune disease. This video discusses this and other unsolved mysteries with autoimmune disease. ClevaLab How autoimmune diseases, which attack your own tissues and cells, work in the bodyThese diseases remain some of medicine's thorniest problems because the immune system can mistakenly attack almost any tissue in the body, resulting in myriad diseases, including lupus (numerous tissues affected), Hashimoto's (thyroid), and MS (the nervous system). The Evaluator Why are women more likely to suffer autoimmune diseases than men?A majority of Americans with autoimmune diseases have more than one X chromosome, a typical marker of the female biological sex, according to a study published in February of 2024. During fetal development, cells side with one X chromosome over the other, preventing the overproduction of X-chromosome-specific proteins and shutting down the twin chromosome. This article explores how this X-chromosome inactivation can lead to autoimmune disorders by generating antibodies to the body's own tissues. Stanford University Lupus, an autoimmune disease with varied symptoms, was named for wolf bite-like lesionsThe 13th-century physician behind the name (lupus is Latin for wolf) named it after a patient he saw who had facial lesions that looked to him like a wolf's bite. Other common symptoms of the disease include extreme fatigue, painful and swollen joints, fevers, and light sensitivity. Lupus Foundation of America Scleroderma, which causes skin to harden and scar, has no FDA-approved treatmentIt's an autoimmune disease that disproportionately causes worse complications in African American people for unknown reasons. It causes the body to overproduce collagen after the immune system attacks the body's own connective tissue, leading to excess collagen deposits and restricted blood circulation as small blood vessels are damaged. It can damage various organs, including the lungs. Mayo Clinic The gut microbiome may play a major role in autoimmune disease and symptom flare-upsCertain unhealthy foods can promote gut bacterial growth and inflammation in the lining of the gut, potentially disrupting its lining—leading to a leaky gut that may allow pathogens to dribble out into the bloodstream, fueling further inflammation that can both cause disease flare-ups and set the stage for future disease development. Rajsree Nambudripad Twin studies suggest celiac disease is among the more genetically-linked disordersGenetics appear to play a larger part in this condition's development than many other autoimmune disorders. Research shows a roughly 60-75% genetic probability that if one identical twin has it, the other will too. Celiac triggers a small intestine attack when people eat gluten, a protein commonly found in wheat, barley, and rye. T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies How one autoimmune disease patient is questing for inflammation curesThis article's writer, who has Hashimoto's Disease and characteristic symptoms from her body attacking her thyroid—like exhaustion, hair loss, and brain fog—shares big take-aways from an anti-inflammatory retreat in Italy. The writer suggests that a holistic approach to eating, sleeping, and stress management, are the only sustainable ways to lower inflammation. Conde Nast Traveler Women typically have more robust immune responses than menThis difference helps women better combat infectious diseases, but this more turbo-charged response may also make women more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases by potentially priming their immune systems to overreact to their own cells and tissues and label them as invaders that must be destroyed. Roughly 80% of American women have autoimmune conditions. National Institutes of Health Autoimmune disorders are one of the top 10 killers of young and middle-aged womenStudies in the US and the UK, though conducted decades ago, have underscored that autoimmune diseases, when grouped together, are a top killer of women. Autoimmune Registry More than 5 million Americans have more than one autoimmune diseaseOverall, about 4.6% of the US population—15 million people—have an autoimmune condition. Some common examples include rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes, Grave's disease, and autoimmune thyroiditis. Mayo Clinic Autoimmune disease prevalence and incidence are on the rise—but no one knows whyResearchers theorize that environmental factors, including shifts to less healthy diets, air pollution, infections, stress, climate change, and exposures to xenobiotics—substances like pesticides, plastics, and toxins that incite immune responses—may all be fueling epigenetic changes to our bodies that make people's immune responses go awry. Current Opinion in Immunology Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain health conditionsEarly clinical trial research suggests that the parasites trigger the production of specific proteins that quiet our immune systems. This keeps the parasites from being killed, but it also quiets the inflammatory response that underpins allergies, type 2 diabetes, celiac disease, and other autoimmune conditions. Researchers still caution that infection with too many hookworms can cause serious medical complications and that this is not a standardized or approved medical treatment. Radiolab Type 1.5 diabetes is typically found in adulthoodClinically referred to as latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, or LADA, this condition is often diagnosed as Type 2 diabetes. However, it’s an autoimmune disease that eventually requires insulin, just like Type 1 diabetes. Misdiagnosis can result in uncontrolled high blood sugar and a slew of other serious health issues. SELF Humans need vitamins, but research is mixed on taking supplementsWhen an organism needs an organic molecule to survive, but cannot synthesize enough of it itself, that molecule is called a vitamin. Typically, we consume vitamins through food, but many resort to supplements—a common and mostly unregulated practice. BBC Autoimmunity is when the body attacks itself, causing inflammationInflammation is the body's way of healing itself, and acute inflammation saves our lives when we have injuries or infections. It increases blood flow to the affected areas to bring immune cells to fight off invaders. This often results in short-term swelling, redness, and pain. Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell Diabetes is a chronic disease linked to insulin production and high blood sugarDiabetes is a chronic, progressive disease caused by a lack of, or problems processing, the hormone insulin, leading to persistently high blood sugar. Around 90 to 95% of cases are Type 2 (chronic and caused by factors like diet and environment). The remainder are Type 1 diabetes (an autoimmune disorder). 1440

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