Autoimmune diseases are diseases in the course of which the immune system produces antibodies directed against the body's own tissues. This leads to permanent inflammation.
There are 80 autoimmune diseases, and the most common are: multiple sclerosis, Hashimoto and Graves' disease, insulin-dependent diabetes , rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, albinism, temporal arteritis.
Causes of autoimmune diseases
Genetic predisposition may be the cause of developing autoimmune disease. Studies have shown that to some extent the predisposition to the occurrence of the disease is hereditary, but insufficient to trigger the disease symptoms. Other factors such as viral infection or medication are also necessary.
Women suffer from autoimmune diseases more often, and the first symptoms are usually observed at childbearing age.
The most common autoimmune diseases
Hashimoto 's disease - a disease in which the immune system treats the thyroid as a foreign body and produces antibodies directed against it. The effect of this is hypothyroidism.
Rheumatoid arthritis - a disease that results from the immune system attacking the lining of the joints.
Lupus - a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, skin and kidneys. Often the first sign of the disease is the appearance of a characteristic erythema on the face, which resembles a butterfly.
Multiple sclerosis - the immune system destroys the myelin sheaths of the nerve cells, resulting in impaired impulse conduction in the nervous system.
Treatment of autoimmune diseases
Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and immunosuppressive drugs (which lower the activity of the immune system) are used in the treatment.
