Medical Health Encyclopedia

Autoimmune disorders

Injury Disease Nutrition Poison Symptoms Surgery Test Special Topic

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Graves' disease Hashimoto's disease (chronic thyroiditis) Multiple sclerosis Rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis Systemic lupus erythematosus Synovial fluid Rheumatoid arthritis Antibodies

Overview Symptoms Treatment Prevention

Autoimmune disorders

Definition:

Autoimmune disorders are conditions caused by an immune response against the body's own tissues.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Text Continues Below

---

The immune system protects the body from potentially harmful substances (antigens) such as microorganisms, toxins, cancer cells, and foreign blood or tissues from another person or species. Antigens are destroyed by the immune response, which includes production of antibodies (molecules that attach to the antigen and make it more susceptible to destruction) and sensitized lymphocytes (specialized white blood cells that recognize and destroy particular antigens).

Immune system disorders occur when the immune response is inappropriate, excessive, or lacking. Autoimmune disorders develop when the immune system destroys normal body tissues. This is caused by a hypersensitivity reaction similar to allergies, where the immune system reacts to a substance that it normally would ignore. In allergies, the immune system reacts to an external substance that would normally be harmless. With autoimmune disorders, the immune system reacts to normal "self" body tissues.

Normally, the immune system is capable of differentiating "self" from "non-self" tissue. Some immune system cells (lymphocytes) become sensitized against "self" tissue cells, but these faulty lymphocytes are usually controlled (suppressed) by other lymphocytes. Autoimmune disorders occur when the normal control process is disrupted. They may also occur if normal body tissue is altered so that it is no longer recognized as "self." The mechanisms that cause disrupted control or tissue changes are not known. One theory holds that various microorganisms and drugs may trigger some of these changes, particularly in people with a genetic predisposition to an autoimmune disorder.