Scleroderma is a rare autoimmune disease, affecting about 300,000 Americans, but for those it affects it can be challenging to manage. The disease is associated with chronic inflammation and fibrosis in the connective tissues and visibly results in hardening and tightening of the skin, among other symptoms. Depending on the severity, patients can also experience issues with internal organs....
Tag: <span>Autoimmune Disease</span>
Post
Newfound autoimmune syndrome causes muscle pain, weakness
by Tamara Bhandari, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis A previously unknown autoimmune muscle disease involving sudden onset of debilitating muscle pain and weakness has been identified by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The syndrome easily could be mistaken for other muscle diseases that require different treatment, so the findings are expected to help physicians treat patients appropriately, the researchers said....
Post
Inflammation: Study explains loss of protective abilities of T cells
First author of the study Dr. Garima Garg (left) and Dr. Andreas Muschaweckh, two scientists of the Experimental Neurimmunology at TUM, are working with a flow cytometer (FACS, Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting). Credit: Astrid Eckert / Technical University of Munich (TUM) Regulatory T cells (Tregs) ensure that immune responses are not too strong and that inflammation...
Post
Gut immune cells cut inflammation in multiple sclerosis
Researchers at the University of Toronto and UC San Francisco have discovered that the intestine is the source of immune cells that reduce brain inflammation in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and that increasing the number of these cells blocks inflammation entirely in a preclinical model of the disease. The cells in question are plasma...
Post
Silicone breast implant patients face greatly increased risk of autoimmune disease
Women with breast implants mostly only had to worry about leaks, but a large-scale Israeli study performed in collaboration with researchers from the University of Alberta confirmed almost one in four implantation patients is at risk of a serious autoimmune disorder. Credit: CC0 Public Domain “The risk of women with breast implantation developing an autoimmune...
Post
Intense Stress And Autoimmune Diseases: Trauma May Raise Risk Of Immune System Disorders
People who experienced trauma or intense stress could be at higher risk of developing an autoimmune disease, findings of a new study suggest. Trauma may increase a person’s risk of developing autoimmune diseases by 36 percent. People who experienced severe emotional reaction as a result of stress can reduce their risk of developing immune system...
Post
New autoimmune disease triggered by thymomas
New autoimmune disease is triggered by thymomas. A Japanese research group has discovered that a newly-identified autoimmune endocrine disease that leads to hypopituitarism is caused by thymomas (a type of tumor originating from the thymic gland). These underlying mechanisms could help to understand and develop a treatment for similar autoimmune diseases. These findings were published...
Post
Time of day affects severity of autoimmune disease
Insights into how the body clock and time of day influence immune responses are revealed today in a study published in leading international journal Nature Communications. Understanding the effect of the interplay between 24-hour day-night cycles and the immune system may help inform drug-targeting strategies to alleviate autoimmune disease. Circadian rhythms or 24-hour rhythms are generated...
Post
Autoimmune disease discovery could spark new treatments
University of Colorado Boulder researchers have discovered a potent, drug-like compound that could someday revolutionize treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases by inhibiting a protein instrumental in prompting the body to start attacking its own tissue. “We have discovered a key to lock this protein in a resting state,” said Hang Hubert Yin,...
Post
Immune cell policing offers insights into cancer, autoimmune disease
Skin samples from mice whose regulatory immune cells (Tregs) lack the Lkb1 protein (bottom) are under attack from other immune cells (purple dots) compared to normal mice whose Tregs have the Lkb1 protein (top). Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are the traffic cops of the immune system. They instruct other types of immune cells on...