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Autoimmune Diseases - Easy to Read
See also…
Lupus
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
Graves’ disease
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Q. What is an autoimmune disease?
A. The body’s immune system helps keep us healthy by fighting infections. When a woman has an autoimmune disease, the immune system makes a mistake and turns against the body itself. There are more than 80 autoimmune diseases that affect different parts of the human body. About 75% of autoimmune diseases are found in women. A woman is more likely to get an autoimmune disease if other family members have autoimmune diseases.
Q. What are examples of autoimmune diseases?
A. Alopecia Areata: The body’s immune system attacks the hair cells and makes bald spots on the head, face, and body.
Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: The body’s immune system cause bleeding and inflammation in the intestines.
Fibromyalgia: The body’s immune system attacks the muscles, tendons, and ligaments, causing pain and tiredness.
Grave’s Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: The body’s immune system attacks the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland controls how the body uses energy. These diseases can make women lose or gain weight, sweat more, become more sensitive to heat changes, as well and change a woman’s menstrual flow.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome: The body’s immune system attacks the nervous system, causing tingling, weakness, and sometimes paralysis in the arms and legs. In very serious cases, it can affect breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.
Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (Type 1 or "Juvenile Diabetes"): The body’s immune system attacks the insulin-making cells in the pancreas (a body organ) and destroys them. Without enough insulin, the body cannot control how much sugar is in the blood. Someone with Insulin dependent diabetes needs daily shots of insulin to live.
Lupus: The body’s immune system attacks the joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain. Sometimes it is very hard to tell if you have lupus. Common signs are a bright rash of the face, pain in the joints, unexplained fever; chest pain when you breathe; and unusual loss of hair.
Multiple Sclerosis: The body’s immune system attacks the central nervous system and keeps the nerves from telling the body to do things like walk, talk, or write. Multiple Sclerosis is often called simply "M-S". Some people with MS will need to use a wheel chair to get around.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: The body’s immune system attacks the tissues around the joints in the body. This disease makes the tissues swell up, and can cause pain and stiffness. It also can hurt the heart, lungs, and eyes.
Scleroderma: The body’s immune system makes scar tissue in the skin, internal organs, and small blood vessels. Symptoms vary, but can include dry eyes and dry mouth, pain in the fingersand toes, and muscle soreness.
Sjogren’s Syndrome: The body’s immune system keeps the body from making tears and saliva, causing dry eyes and dry mouth.
Q. What causes autoimmune diseases?
A. The causes of autoimmune diseases are not known. Scientists do know that some autoimmune diseases seem to run in families. However, the diseases may show up as different illnesses in different family members. For example, a mother may have lupus, her daughter diabetes, and her grandmother rheumatoid arthritis.
Also, hormones are thought to play a role in these diseases, because the diseases happen more often after women go through menopause (around age 50, when a woman stops having menstrual periods), and because the disease may get better or worse during pregnancy. Researchers are working to find out about genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors that may lead to autoimmune diseases.
Q. How are autoimmune diseases diagnosed?
A. A doctor can diagnose autoimmune diseases by looking at laboratory tests and asking a patient about her symptoms. Autoimmune diseases are difficult to diagnose, especially in the early stages. In some cases, a diagnosis cannot be made and the patient must continue with many visits to the doctor. Although autoimmune diseases last your entire life, the disease affects different people in different ways. Patients should see their doctors often to avoid complications.
Q. How are autoimmune diseases treated?
A. Autoimmune diseases usually need the lifelong care of a doctor, even when a woman looks or feels fine. Few autoimmune diseases can be cured or disappear with treatment, but, many people can live normal and healthy lives when they receive the proper medical care. Doctors can help patients manage the disease with various medications, but some of these medications can have serious side-effects. It is important to tell your doctor as many details as possible about your symptoms and side effects of treatment.
For More Information . . .
You can find out more about Autoimmune disease by contacting the National Women’s Health Information Center (800-994-9662) or by contacting the following organizations:
National Institute of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
Phone Number(s): (301) 496-8188 (Information Office), (301) 565-2966 (TTY)
Internet Address: http://www.nih.gov/niams/
National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases
Internet Address: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/
National Organization for Rare Diseases
Phone Number(s): (800) 999-6673
Internet Address: http://www.rarediseases.org/
American Autoimmune Related Diseases
Association, Inc.
Phone Number(s): (800) 598-4668 (Literature Requests)
Internet Address: http://www.aarda.org/
This information was abstracted from fact sheets developed by the Office on Women's Health in the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Autoimmune Disease in Women).
All material contained in the FAQs is free of copyright restrictions, and may be copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission of the Office on Women's Health in the Department of Health and Human Services; citation of the sources is appreciated.
Publication date: October 23, 2000
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