What is autoimmune?
When the immune system normally works, the body develops a state of tolerance in response to its own proteins. In some cases, however, the state of autoimmunity may develop in which the immune system recognizes and responds to one or more body proteins. When this happens, the immune reactions that develop can have a serious impact on health.
The immune system has evolved into a highly specialized reaction that recognizes and destroys foreign proteins and organisms. In this respect, the immune system only distinguishes between "I" and "non-me". The proteins that are produced by the body are self and trigger the state of immunological tolerance; Proteins from viruses, bacteria, parasites, plants, animals and other people are not-sellf and can potentially provoke an immune response.
Immunological tolerance is a condition in which the immune response is actively suppressed on its own proteins. In some situations, however, the body may develop a response, rather than tolerance, to one or more of their own proteins. This immunThe independent reaction is called autoimmunity.
The most famous autoimmune disorders include type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as multiple sclerosis and lupus. In any case, the symptoms of autoimmune disease are caused by the immune system attacking their own proteins. The resulting immune response can cause tissue destruction, chronic inflammation and other debilitating symptoms.
In the case of type 1 diabetes, for example, immune cells destroy cells producing pancreatic insulin, leading to the need for an external insulin source. On the other hand, rheumatoid arthritis is the result of an immune response based on joint tissue cells that cause chronic pain and inflammation. Systematic lupus occurs when the body produces autoimmune antibodies that respond to the type of protein found almost in the cell in the body. This form of disease can be particularly dangerous, with the ability to influence organa, joints, muscles and blood.
While the general causes of autoimmunity are unknown, many theories try to take into account patterns of the development of autoimmune disease in populations. One theory puts on the fact that women develop autoimmunity more often than men, and that pregnancy increases the risk of female risk of creating an autoimmune disorder. According to this theory, this risk increases because women are exposed to fetal proteins across the placental barrier during pregnancy, which could disrupt the tolerance of their own protein.
Another theory tries to explain why the occurrence of autoimmune disorders has increased in many decades in many Western countries. Hygiene hypothesis explains that increased focus on hygiene has led to a reduction in the exposure to non-Self proteins and reduced the opportunity for the immune system to "learn" as much between themselves and not. There are some evidence of this theory in the fact that autoimmunity is much more common in the Western world than in countries where PR iso Endemic population.