Many people around the globe are suffering from an immune system that can't differentiate between healthy cells, invading bacteria, or diseases. The defenses against diseases that were once protecting themselves are now attacking their tissue and organs.
International research efforts are underway to stop this trend. A London-based organization known as the Francis Crick Institute, has two world-renowned experts. James Lee & Carola Vinuesa established separate research teams to find the causes behind the autoimmune condition.
Lee told the Observer that autoimmune illnesses began to increase about 40 years ago in western countries. But, we're now witnessing cases appear in nations that have never experienced the disease before.
The Middle East and East Asia have seen the highest growth in cases of inflammatory bowel disorders. Before that they had hardly seen the disease.
Type 1 diabetes is often associated with rheumatoid or multiple sclerosis. In each case the immune system becomes confused and shifts to healthy tissues over infectious agents.
The UK is home to at least 4,000,000 patients suffering from these diseases. There are many others. According to international estimates the amount of patients suffering from autoimmune disorders is on the rise by anywhere from 3% to 9percent each year. Many scientists believe environmental factors are the primary cause of this growth.
Human genetics hasn't altered over the past few years, according to Lee who was based at Cambridge University. Therefore, something is changing outside of our body that could increase our vulnerability to developing an autoimmune condition.
Vinuesa agreed with the idea having worked previously in the Australian National University. She emphasized that changes in diet were taking place when more nations adopted Western-style eating habits, and more people were buying fast food items.
Diets that focus on fast food lack some essential ingredients, like fiber, and research indicates that this change affects your microbiome, which is the micro-organisms we have within our guts and that play an important role in controlling various body functions, Vinuesa explained.
The changes in our microbiomes can trigger immune-mediated diseases, of which more than 100 types are now being identified.
The scientists both stressed that each person is at risk of developing these illnesses, which include celiac, Lupus, and various other illnesses such as celiac which trigger inflammation and swelling and can cause serious damage to the organs of various.
Vinuesa states that a person who doesn't have a specific genetic predisposition will not develop an autoimmune disease, regardless of the amount of Big Macs they consume. "There isn't much that we can do to halt the spread of fast food franchises. Instead, we're trying to understand the genetic mechanisms behind the autoimmune diseases and why some individuals are more susceptible to it. "We would like to tackle the problem at this point."
This feat is possible due to the advancement of methods that allow researchers to pinpoint tiny DNA differences between large numbers of people. This allows us to find common genetic patterns among patients suffering from autoimmune diseases.
Lee said that the capacity to sequence huge amounts of DNA has transformed the way we do everything. We did not have these tools until recently. My study revealed that there were around six DNA variations that are involved in the development of inflammatory bowel diseases. We now have more than 250.
Lee and Vinuesa have a particular focus of their efforts on this type of research. They want to learn more about genetic pathways and discover the root causes of various diseases they are studying. Vinuesa said that autoimmune diseases like Lupus, for instance, can be seen in various forms and could have different genetic reasons. When you're trying to find the most effective treatment for your condition, this could be a problem.
There are many potential innovative therapies that are being developed, but we don't know what patients we should give them. We don't even know which version of the disease the patient is suffering from. This is an important aspect in autoimmune research. It is essential to learn how to stratify and group patients in order to give them the appropriate treatment.
Lee stated that due to the rising incidence of autoimmune diseases all over the globe, new treatments and drugs are now needed more urgently than ever. There are currently no cures for autoimmune illnesses that usually manifest in young people - while they're trying to complete their education, find their first job and Read More raise families, Lee said.
That means more people are likely to undergo surgery or regular injections throughout their lives. This could be very stressful for patients and an enormous pressure on healthcare. Hence the urgent need to find new, effective treatments.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disorder. This means that the immune system attacks healthy tissues. It's still not understood what causes this.
The antibodies that your immune system makes to attack bacteria and viruses are essential Read More to fight off infection.
If you suffer from Rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system sends the wrong antibodies to the joint's lining, where they attack the tissue surrounding the joint.
The thin layer of cells (synovium) that cover your joints to become swollen and inflamed. It releases chemicals that damage nearby:
bones
Cartilage - The connective tissue that connects cartilage and bones
The tendons are the tissue which connects muscle to bone
Ligaments – The tissues that connect bone and cartilage
If rheumatoid disease isn't treated, the chemicals slowly cause the joint to loose its shape. The chemicals can eventually lead to the destruction of the joint in its entirety.
Many theories on why the immune system attacks joints have been proposed including an infection being an underlying cause, however none of these theories have been confirmed.
Possible risk factors
There are many factors that can increase your chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis, such as:
the genes you carry - there's evidence to suggest that arthritis may be passed down through families, but the likelihood of passing it on is thought to be low because genes are thought to play a small influence on the condition.
Hormone-Rheumatoid Ailment is more frequent for women than men. It could be due to the estrogen-related effects, however this isn't confirmed.
Smoking cigarettes - There is evidence that smoking increases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.