Autoimmune Diseases

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Basics

Summary
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Diagnosis and Tests

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Related Issues
Specifics
Genetics

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Summary

Your body's immune system protects you from disease and infection. But if you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake. Autoimmune diseases can affect many parts of the body.

No one is sure what causes autoimmune diseases. They do tend to run in families. Women - particularly African-American, Hispanic-American, and Native-American women - have a higher risk for some autoimmune diseases.

There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases, and some have similar symptoms. This makes it hard for your health care provider to know if you really have one of these diseases, and if so, which one. Getting a diagnosis can be frustrating and stressful. Often, the first symptoms are fatigue, muscle aches and a low fever. The classic sign of an autoimmune disease is inflammation, which can cause redness, heat, pain and swelling.

The diseases may also have flare-ups, when they get worse, and remissions, when symptoms get better or disappear. Treatment depends on the disease, but in most cases one important goal is to reduce inflammation. Sometimes doctors prescribe corticosteroids or other drugs that reduce your immune response.

Start Here

Autoimmune Diseases (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
Understanding Autoimmune Diseases (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Diagnosis and Tests

ANA (Antinuclear Antibody) Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Autoantibodies (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
Blood Test: Immunoglobulin A (IgA) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Complement Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Immunoglobulins Blood Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Pharmacogenetic Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Protein Electrophoresis/Immunofixation Electrophoresis (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)

Related Issues

Associated Autoimmune Diseases (Gluten Intolerance Group) - PDF

Specifics

Autoimmune Hepatitis (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome (ALPS) (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
Autoinflammatory Diseases (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
Familial Mediterranean Fever (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Goodpasture Syndrome (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Learning about Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) (National Human Genome Research Institute)
Neuromyelitis Optica (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish
Paraneoplastic Syndromes (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Primary Biliary Cholangitis (Primary Biliary Cirrhosis) (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Stiff-Person Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
What Is Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: otulipenia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (National Library of Medicine)

Statistics and Research

Shaking Out Clues to Autoimmune Disease (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)
Study Provides Insights into Diagnosis, Treatment of Rare Immune Disease: Autoimmmune Lymphoproliferative Syndrome (ALPS) (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Autoimmune Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Hereditary Autoinflammatory Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Reference Desk

Overview of the Immune System (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Find an Expert

Children

What Is a Pediatric Rheumatologist? (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

Immune System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Women

Pregnancy and Rheumatic Disease (American College of Rheumatology) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

Autoimmune disorders (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Complement (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish