What Effects Do Autoimmune Diseases Have On The Body?

In someone who develops an autoimmune disease, their immune system starts to attack their own body tissues rather than 'foreign' particles such as bacteria and viruses. This causes a great deal of damage and can produce some very serious and unpleasant symptoms.

Mutliple sclerosis, insulin-dependent diabetes, myasthenia gravis and rheumatoid arthritis are all examples of autoimmune diseases.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system attacks the joints and these become swollen and deformed as a result of excessive inflammation.

In mutliple sclerosis, T cells attack the myelins sheath that surrounds nerves. This sheath acts as an electrical insulator that makes nerve transmission work properly. When it starts to be destroyed, the nerves cannot transmit signals from the brain to the parts of the body that are arffected and this results in loss of movement and sometimes also in blindness.

There are treatments for autoimmune diseases, but currently, people have to live with their disease and control the symptoms.

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