Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases

By: Mark Monteiro

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An autoimmune disease occurs due to the overactive response of the immune system against a specific substance and tissue which is normally a part of body. The immune system treats some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it. Before focusing on the treatment of autoimmune diseases, let us know what happens exactly during the disease.

The immune system gives protection against microorganisms or foreign substances. B lymphocytes of immune system produce antibodies, and proteins that attack these microorganisms or foreign substances and remove them from the body. T lymphocytes of the immune system directly attack foreign particles. Our immune system has extensive library of identified and distinguished substances as self and not self and only attacks those tissues that it recognizes as ‘not self’. Autoimmune diseases take place in the body when these lymphocytes fail to notice the cells or tissues of the body.

Names of Autoimmune Diseases

• Scleroderma (skin, intestine, less commonly lungs)
• Sjögren's syndrome (salivary glands, tear glands, joints)
• Goodpasture's syndrome (related to lungs and  kidneys)
• Wegener's granulomatosis in blood vessels, lungs, sinuses, and kidneys
• Polymyalgia Rheumatica
• Guillain-Barre syndrome of nervous system
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
• Juvenile RA (JRA) of joints which is less common in  lungs and skin
• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus of skin, kidneys, joints, heart, red blood cells, brain, etc.

 

Localized Autoimmune Diseases

 

1. Addison's disease 
2. Primary biliary cirrhosis
3. Sclerosing cholangitis 
4. Autoimmune hepatitis of liver
5. Temporal Arteritis / Giant Cell Arteritis in head or neck
6. Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in pancreas islets
7. Hashimoto's thyroiditis
8. Graves' disease (thyroid)
9. Celiac disease
10. Crohn's disease 
11. Ulcerative colitis (GI tract)
12. Multiple sclerosis

 

There are many factors that can form autoimmune diseases in human body. These factors are as follows:

• Environmental toxins
• Heredity
• Viruses
• Certain drugs
• Stress
• Poor diet
• Lack of exercise
• Lack of sleep
• Abuse of alcohol and tobacco

 

Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases

 

Autoimmune diseases cannot be directly treated. Its treatment depends on the symptoms. Radiation of the lymph nodes as well as plasmapheresis in which diseased cells are removed from blood circulation is one type of treatment. There are many types of treatments that help to cure these diseases. They are listed as follows:

 

1. Hormone replacement therapy 
2. Enzyme replacement therapy 
3. Corticosteroids
4. Prednisone
5. NSAIDs
6. Plasmapheresis
7. Immunosuppressants
   1. Methotrexate
   2. Cyclophosphamide
   3. Azathioprine
   4. Cyclosporin
8. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG)

Intense immunosuppression followed by hemolymphopoietic stem cells (HSCs) treatments recently found its positive roots on experimental animals. Along with this, autologous transplantation is very realistic procedure with lower toxicity as compared to allogeneic transplantation.

When our daily life is boosted with proper eating and exercise routine, it is very hard to get affected by autoimmune disorders. According to nutritionists, a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables along with brown rice, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, etc. will also help to live a healthy life and control all types of autoimmune diseases.

About the Author

 Dr. Mark Monteiro is graduated from the Hazard University and done his MBA from the he University Of Illinois College Of Medicine. Currently he is working as general physician at Elmhurst Loyola Center for Health. For over 15 years he has been a pioneer in the field of physician health. He has contributed to the treatment of many diseases like- ASTHMA, TUBERCULOSIS, HIV, HEPATITIS AND ITS TREATMENT. 

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