The Autoimmune Connection: Essential Information for Women on Diagnosis, Treatment, and Getting On With Your Life Read Free Page B

system does not react in identical ways.
    Overall, genetics may account for about half the risks for autoimmune disease. However, what is inherited is not a specific gene that causes a defect that leads to disease, but several genes that collectively increase vulnerability or susceptibility.
    While it is clear that there are environmental triggers for autoimmune disease, we still don’t know much about them or how they might cause disease. Probably the best documented triggers are drugs, such as those that cause lupus, and there is strong (but not conclusive) evidence that viruses and bacteria can also serve as triggers. Foods, such as gluten, can also serve as a trigger, as can hormones.
    Even if one is genetically predisposed, the possibility exists that autoimmune disease can be avoided if the environmental trigger is eliminated. Indeed, as we continue to learn more about them, the victory over the autoimmune diseases may come from strategies to prevent rather than treat disease.
    One of the common threads uniting all of the autoimmune diseases is the presence of autoantibodies . Finding autoantibodies in blood serum is a key first step in the diagnosis of autoimmune disease. We now know that some of those antibodies may have been present years before symptoms arise. So theremay be a period when we can intervene early enough to avoid or lessen chances of full-blown disease.
    At the same time, the presence of autoantibodies is not a sufficient criterion for a diagnosis. It is a combination of clinical findings with laboratory data that helps a physician make a final diagnosis. In fact, many normal individuals have autoantibodies in their serum without any clinical evidence of disease.
    Scientifically, we now know that many of the mechanisms involved in the production of one autoimmune disease also pertain to others. Therefore, studying the common factors in these diseases may help us understand the underlying causes of autoimmune disorders as a whole—and begin to treat the underlying causes of these diseases, not just the symptoms.
    The common threads that connect the autoimmune diseases are woven throughout this important book, enabling readers to obtain a greater understanding of these illnesses individually and collectively.
    Together with new information contained in this volume about diagnostic and treatment advances, patients and their families will get help to be better able to cope with these diseases and, as the title states, get on with their lives.
    Noel R. Rose, MD, PhD
    Department of Pathology,
    Brigham and Women’s Hospital
    Harvard Medical School,
    Boston, MA
    Director, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for Autoimmune Disorders

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Autoimmune Disease—Facing Our Intimate Enemy
I had never heard the word autoimmune before I was told that I had antiphospholipid syndrome. And that diagnosis was scary enough. Imagine having normal checkups all of your life, then having a stroke from an illness you never even heard of. You have to learn a whole lot in a very short time to understand what’s happening to you and feel in control and not frightened.
    E LAINE , 58
    Y ou probably bought this book because you’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease or you suspect you may have one. Perhaps someone in your family has an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, and you’re worried about your own risk.
    Maybe you’re even wondering how it is that the body can declare war on itself. Simply put, somewhere along the line, your immune cells got the wrong message. Your body dispatched the battalions of cells that normally recognize and eliminate foreign invaders such as bacteria to instead destroy healthy tissue. The attack can target any area, including the joints (causing rheumatoid arthritis), the thyroid gland (causing it to become overactive or underactive), or nerve cells (leading to multiple sclerosis).
    Often it’s not a single assault; immune attacks may have several targets. If you have one