FreeArticlesArchive

For many women, the alarm clock sounds each morning finding them not ready for the day. These women awake morning after morning feeling tired and fatigued. As they struggle out of bed, they wonder how they ever managed to get so run down.

This is how it was for Ann, a lawyer from San Francisco. At the age of 32, she described her symptoms to her doctor. She was tired all the time, lost weight without trying and just didn’t feel healthy. Her doctor shrugged off Ann’s complaints and told Ann she just needed to relax more and maybe take a holiday.

When Ann's symptoms got worse, she didn't go back to her own physician. Instead, she went to a doctor recommended by a friend and was diagnosed with Lupus, an autoimmune disease. Now that the cause of her symptoms were finally detected, she was able to begin a therapy that helped control the symptoms that were upsetting her life.

Difficulty Getting Diagnosed
The term autoimmune disease encompasses more than 80 different, serious chronic illnesses. Many of these illnesses are rare, but as a group, autoimmune disease troubles millions of Americans - about one adult in every 20.

Ann is not by her self in her experience. Due, in part, to the nature of the symptoms (they are vague, tend to come and go, and are often hard to describe) many patients just get labeled as frequent complainers. In 1997, the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association (AARDA) found that more than 65% of patients with autoimmune diseases had been labeled chronic complainers during the earlier stages of their illnesses. Doctors often find it easy to disregard the complaint since autoimmune diseases tend to strike women during their childbearing years, typically when a woman looks healthy.

Although it is often very hard to get a correct diagnosis in the beginning stages, it is imperative to do so. The ability to quickly identify an autoimmune disease can lessen both physical and mental stress that accompanies a non-diagnosis or incorrect one.

Why Are Women the Target?
Autoimmune diseases are the fourth leading cause of women’s disability among U.S. women, and women make up 75% of people with autoimmune diseases.

The truth is researchers don’t know the answer. Very little is actually know about the causes of autoimmune diseases. Researchers speculate that hormones play a role. It has been theorized that hormones are involved because the expression of autoimmune diseases and their symptoms seems to be related to changes in hormone levels.

"No study clearly states that hormones cause autoimmune diseases," says Virginia Ladd, president and founder of the AARDA, "but a connection between the two is evident. If you look at the number of diagnoses after puberty and before menopause, you see a much higher rate than before or after these events. Also, some diseases suddenly improve during pregnancy, with symptoms re-emerging after delivery, and others may get worse with pregnancy."

Dr. Ladd further explains, "The research is in its infancy, and although the interrelationship between hormones and autoimmune diseases is acknowledged, most aspects of this relationship are not clearly understood."

Finding a Cause
The purpose of the immune system is to protect the body's vitality by fighting foreign invaders. The primary protectors deployed in the war against infection are the white blood cells. They are a diverse group of cells, but lymphocytes account for about 25% of them and play a major role in defending against "invasion."

The immune system can function properly because of its ability to identify "self" from "non-self" tissues. It is normal for some lymphocytes to become sensitized against self tissue, but these defective cells are usually suppressed by other lymphocytes. Autoimmune diseases occur when the control process stops working, and the immune system reacts to normal, self body tissue as though it is an invader. The body actually attacks its own tissues and can destroy body tissues, change organ function, or cause abnormal organ growth.

What About a Genetic Connection?
Autoimmune diseases are not genetic diseases, but genetics is involved in the progression of the disease. Autoimmune diseases are not the result of a specific gene mutation. Instead, many genes are involved and work together to increase a person's susceptibility.

Autoimmune diseases tend to cluster in families. Although, the clusters manifest as different autoimmune diseases: a mother may have Lupus; a daughter may have Diabetes; and a grandmother may have Rheumatoid Arthritis. Each disease is an autoimmune disease, but a distinctively different disease. Each disease is an autoimmune disease, but a distinctively different disease.

Noel Rose, MD, PhD, an expert in the field of autoimmune diseases and John Hopkins University professor, states in a paper presented at an AARDA conference that "genetic components represent something on the order of half of the risks. If you have a genetic predisposition to autoimmunity, you may have two or five times as much chance of developing autoimmunity as someone else."

Is it Caused By the Environment?
Science has not been able to provide complete answers to the connection between autoimmune diseases and environment. There does appear, however, to be agents in the environment that trigger the disease or exacerbate the symptoms. These agents include:

* Sunlight - intensifies the symptoms of Lupus, but may also bring about the disease
* Silica - may induce scleroderma
* Iodine - may intensify thyroid disease
* Viral infections - may trigger or intensify certain immune diseases
* Stress and anxiety - have been shown to increase the harshness and frequency of some symptoms

The relationship between environmental factors and autoimmune diseases is not clear. Although much remains to be discovered, researchers believe there may be some association between autoimmune diseases and the environment.

Autoimmune Disease Management
Treatment of autoimmune diseases focuses on reducing the severity of the symptoms as most autoimmune diseases are chronic and few can be cured. Steroidal or other anti-inflammatory medications may lessen symptoms in some cases.

Severe diseases may require the suppression of the immune system with immunosuppressive medications.

Experts tell us that learning to cope with the disease is the best strategy until effective treatment or preventive measures are discovered. Developing coping mechanisms can be challenging and even frightening. You may not only question your own ability to cope but also the ability of those around you.

Two areas on which to focus your coping efforts are provided by the AARDA:

Dealing With Your Health Care Specialist - It is important to not be intimidated by the medical profession; your health care provider is your partner. Ask questions and understand fully your individual condition and treatment plan. Be an active member in the development of your treatment plan. Never be afraid to get a second opinion.

Dealing With Your Emotions - Mentally, you can expect to feel several different emotions, and it may seem like a roller coaster. The way you handle the emotional cascade is personal; find the way that works for you. It may be helpful to enlist the support of those around you, remembering that you're not alone. In fact, many people find joining a support group quite helpful. And, most importantly, give yourself and your family time to adjust, since chronic illnesses have many ups and downs and can be emotionally draining.