Autoimmunity

With allergic diseases, autoimmune disorders and immunodeficiencies affecting up to 50 percent of the population, immunology is one of the most comprehensive fields in health care. Immunological conditions are multifaceted and are further complicated when outside influences like preexisting conditions or medications lead to overlapping symptoms that increase the difficulty of diagnosing and treating the primary source. Complex immunologic conditions are more successfully diagnosed when a team of specialists in immunologic diseases collaborates. Conducting research and training future immunologists are paramount for diagnosing and treating complex conditions and advancing the field. Houston Methodist's Immunology Center is bringing healing and hope to patients with complex immunologic, allergic and autoimmune diseases while training the next generation to ensure a vibrant future with groundbreaking research and clinical trials. The Immunology Center will serve as a resource to the Houston community, because Houston Methodist offers: • Unmatched clinical expertise with demonstrated excellence in treating disease and extending life • An institution built on progress with an uninterrupted trajectory of growth and success • An independent academic medical center with flexibility for strong partnerships across the country and around the world and an institutional focus and commitment to translational research • Strong leadership with the financial health and business acumen to m...

Figure 1. The Autoimmune Process. The immune response in autoimmune disease recapitulates that of responses directed against infection, except that self antigens are, or become, the target of the adaptive immune system. These self antigens may drive a process that is localised within a specific organ, such as the thyroid gland ( Grave’s disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) or brain ( multiple sclerosis). Or responses to them may lead to a more general inflammatory condition (e.g. systemic lupus erythematosus [ SLE]). Following initiation and trafficking, local damage can amplify disease, while the balance of this by regulation determines whether relapse or remission dominate as the disease progresses. Autoimmune disease occurs when an immune response attacks our own tissues. Like all adaptive immune responses, it is focused on specific antigens by T-cell receptors and B-cell receptors. In contrast to infection, the antigens that these cells recognise are processed from proteins within the target organ and this drives a chronic inflammatory process that disrupts the normal function of the tissue. In human diseases the trigger for this process cannot usually be determined. There is evidence that autoimmunity can follow infection, but that more than one infection can initiate disease. Other environmental factors are also relevant but are not well defined. There has been a lot of recent progress in understanding the influence of inheritance on autoimmune disease. A key observatio...

UT Physicians provides primary and specialty care for patients of all ages. We have over 2,000 health care providers with expertise in more than 80 specialties and subspecialties. From routine visits to advanced services, our physicians practice at more than 100 locations across the Greater Houston area. Find the care you need and schedule an appointment with us today. About UT Physicians Center for Autoimmunity clinicians diagnose and treat a broad range of rheumatic diseases including the many forms of arthritis, connective tissue diseases (such as scleroderma, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis), tendonitis and bursitis. UT Physicians are renowned for their expertise in lupus, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome, polymyositis, dermatomyositis, vasculitis, and spondyloarthropathies (such as ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and reactive syndrome). High Pedestrian Alert The Fannin facing side of the UTPB Garage Building has a high traffic of pedestrians. Please be careful when entering and exiting the parking building. Parking Rates Time Range Rate 0 Minutes – 1 Hour $4.00 1 Hour – 1 Hour 20 Min $5.00 1 Hour 20 Min – 1 Hour 40 Min $6.00 1 Hour 40 Min – 2 Hours $7.00 2 Hours – 2 Hours 20 Min $8.00 2 Hours 20 Min – 2 Hours 40 Min $9.00 2 Hours 40 Min – 6 Hours $10.00 6 Hours – 24 Hours $20.00 Lost Ticket $20.00 Daily Max $20.00 Valet Parking – 0 Minutes – 6 Hours $12.00 Valet Parking – 6 Hours – 24 Hours $20.00 *No in and out privileges Getting t...

Contents • 1 History • 2 Low-level autoimmunity • 3 Immunological tolerance • 4 Immunodeficiency and autoimmunity • 5 Genetic factors • 6 Sex • 7 Environmental factors • 7.1 Infectious diseases and parasites • 7.2 Chemical agents and drugs • 8 Pathogenesis of autoimmunity • 9 Classification • 10 Diagnosis • 11 Treatments • 11.1 Nutrition and autoimmunity • 12 See also • 13 References • 14 External links History In the later 19th century it was believed that the immune system was unable to react against the body's own tissues. horror autotoxicus. Ehrlich later adjusted his theory to recognize the possibility of autoimmune tissue attacks, but believed certain innate protection mechanisms would prevent the autoimmune response from becoming pathological. [ citation needed] In 1904 this theory was challenged by the discovery of a substance in the serum of patients with paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria that reacted with red blood cells. During the following decades, a number of conditions could be linked to autoimmune responses. However, the authoritative status of Ehrlich's postulate hampered the understanding of these findings. Immunology became a biochemical rather than a clinical discipline. [ citation needed] More recently it has become accepted that autoimmune responses are an integral part of vertebrate Low-level autoimmunity While a high level of autoimmunity is unhealthy, a low level of autoimmunity may actually be beneficial. Taking the experience of a beneficial factor ...

Autoimmune diseases are conditions in which your immune system mistakenly damages healthy cells in your body. Types include rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and some thyroid conditions. Your immune system usually protects you from diseases and infections. When it senses these pathogens, it creates specific cells to target foreign cells. Usually, your immune system can tell the difference between foreign cells and your cells. But if you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system mistakes parts of your body, such as your joints or skin, as foreign. It releases proteins called autoantibodies that attack healthy cells. Some autoimmune diseases target only one organ. Below we provide an overview of some of the most common autoimmune diseases. Doctors don’t know exactly what causes the immune system to misfire. Yet some people are more likely to get an autoimmune disease than others. Some factors that • Your sex: People assigned female at birth between the age of 15 and 44 are more likely to get an autoimmune disease than people assigned male at birth. • Your family history: You may be more likely to develop autoimmune diseases due to inherited genes, though environmental factors may also contribute. • Environmental factors: Exposure to sunlight, mercury, chemicals like solvents or those used in agriculture, cigarette smoke, or certain bacterial and viral infections, • Ethnicity: Some autoimmune diseases are more common in people in certain groups. For example, White p...

Autoimmunity is very common If we use autoantibodies as an indicator for autoimmunity, we find there are many, many types of autoantibodies, directed against many different self-antigens. Thus, it is not surprising that if we were to test the serum broadly enough, we would find some autoantibodies in most “healthy” individuals. Similar reasoning applies to autoreactive T cells, although in the clinical laboratory it is much more complicated to test for T cells than for autoantibodies. An additional proof that autoantibodies and autoreactive T cells can be present in individuals who do not have clinical evidence of autoimmune disease comes from the new types of cancer treatment based on immunotherapy. Cancer patients who are treated with Prevalence of ANA in the general population by age and gender (Guo YP et al Curr Ther Res, 2014). Autoantibodies are an excellent biomarker for autoimmunity Since the beginning of the autoimmunity field, autoantibodies have been the tool used by clinical laboratories to diagnose and monitor autoimmunity. There are literally hundreds of different autoantibody tests a physician can order nowadays. The most common autoantibody test is the so-called ANA (for anti-nuclear antibody), which is performed using a technique called ANAs are often found in the general population, even in the absence of any autoimmune disease. As the line graph shows, the prevalence of ANAs in the general population increases with age, and it is higher in women than men...