Normally, the immune system defends the body against diseases or infections by attacking foreign bodies. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body’s cells, tissues, and organs, causing inflammation and damage.
There are over 100 autoimmune diseases. Some of them attack specific organs such as type 1 diabetes, and others attack multiple organs such as Lupus.
In this article, we will review the top of the list of autoimmune diseases and symptoms.
Common autoimmune diseases and their symptoms
Type 1 Diabetes
It is a chronic condition in which the pancreas cannot secrete enough insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose to enter cells to produce energy. The absence of insulin leads to increased glucose levels in the blood. Young people and children are frequently affected by type 1 diabetes. But it can appear at any age.
Symptoms
- Feeling thirsty, and hungry.
- Increase the frequency of urination.
- Losing weight.
- Feeling tired, irritable, and mood changing.
- Having blurry vision.
Multiple Sclerosis
It is a nervous system disease. The immune system attacks the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers, known as myelin affects communication between the brain and the rest of the body. This disease may cause permanent damage to the nerve fibers.
Symptoms
Symptoms of multiple sclerosis include vision problems, numbness, weakness, and problems with walking. Some patients become unable to move at all, even walking. Others may have remission. Remission is the term for extended intervals following attacks during which no new symptoms appear.
There’s no cure for multiple sclerosis. However, there are treatments to help increase recovery and manage symptoms.
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a chronic disease in which the immune system affects the skin causing multiplication Psoriasis is a common chronic disease with no cure. Treatments help control symptoms only.
Symptoms
Common symptoms include: rashes, itching, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk, and scalp, and dry cracked skin.
Crohn’s Disease
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by severe inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract’s lining. The most frequently affected area is between the rectum and the ileum.
Symptoms
Symptoms mainly include diarrhea, fever, fatigue, belly pain, cramping, blood in the stool, mouth sores, reduced appetite, and weight loss.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
A chronic disorder mainly affects joints and tissue around them. It can also affect the skin, heart, lungs, and blood vessels. Although rheumatoid arthritis affects any joint, the wrist and fingers are the most commonly affected.
Symptoms
- Tender, warm, painful swollen joints.
- Joint stiffness gets worse in the morning following fever, tiredness, and appetite loss.
Lupus
It is a chronic disorder that can damage many different body systems, including skin, joints, kidneys, heart, brain, and lungs.
Symptoms
Symptoms of lupus differ according to the affected part of the body, but the most characterized sign is a Butterfly-shaped rash on the face that covers the cheeks and bridge of the nose.
And there are most common signs and symptoms;
Fatigue, fever, joint pain, shortness of breath, chest pain, dry eyes, sun sensitivity, Headaches, confusion, and memory loss.
Scleroderma
Scleroderma means hard skin. It is an autoimmune illness that results in excessive connective tissue development.
Symptoms
The tissue gets hard or thick, thick, tight skin on your fingers, and red spots on your hands and face. It can cause swelling or pain in your muscles and joints, calcium deposits in connective tissues, a narrowing of blood vessels in the hands or feet, and swelling of the esophagus.
Psoriatic Arthritis
Patients with psoriasis may develop psoriatic arthritis, which is a kind of arthritis. Most people get psoriasis years before they get psoriatic arthritis.
Symptoms
The main signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis are Joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and a red patch of skin topped with silvery scales. Some persons experience joint pain before the onset of skin patches.
Psoriatic arthritis is the same as rheumatoid arthritis which can affect the joints but psoriatic arthritis is more likely to cause swollen fingers and toes. It may result in painful sausage-like swelling of toes and fingers and foot pain. It can also affect tendons and ligaments attached to your bones.
Celiac disease
It is an autoimmune disease caused by the immune system’s sensitivity to gluten. Gluten is a protein present in food containing wheat, barley, or rye. This response may damage the small intestine’s lining and decrease food absorption.
Symptoms
Diarrhea, exhaustion, weight loss, bloating, anemia, gas, abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, and constipation are caused by intestinal injury.
Sjögren’s Disease
Sjögren’s is a systemic autoimmune disease that affects the entire body.
Symptoms
Extensive dryness and other serious complications include profound fatigue, chronic pain, major organ involvement, neuropathies, and lymphomas.
How autoimmune diseases affect the body
The immune system can differentiate between “self” and “non-self,” and it typically protects the body from external substances. An autoimmune reaction can occur when certain lymphocytes respond against themselves. These lymphocytes are normally suppressed. Autoimmune diseases naturally occur in everyone to different degrees.
In most people, it does not lead to disease. Autoimmune diseases result when the normal regulation process is disrupted, allowing lymphocytes to evade repression, or when a body tissue changes such that it is no longer identified as “self” and is therefore attacked. Till now, It is unknown what specific mechanisms cause these changes.
Early warning signs to watch for
Unfortunately, symptoms and signs of autoimmune diseases often overlap with other conditions. This makes diagnosis so hard. Symptoms including redness, swelling, heat, and discomfort, are frequent in autoimmune illnesses. However, they differ depending on the body area that is affected.
The symptoms of autoimmune diseases might change over time. During an outbreak, your symptoms may worsen for a while. Later on, you may have a remission, in which your symptoms get better or temporarily disappear.
Treatment
Mostly, there is no cure for autoimmune disease. Treatment just helps in immune system suppression and symptom control. Doctors may prescribe corticosteroids or other medicines to relieve immune reactions.
Summary
In autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body itself causing inflammation. There are over 100 autoimmune diseases. Some of them attack specific organs such as type 1 diabetes, and others attack multiple organs such as Lupus.
There is no cure for autoimmune disease. Treatment helps control symptoms and suppress immune system activity only.
Reference
Administrator. (2024, November 14). Autoimmunity. Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA). https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/autoimmunity
Autoimmune disease. National Stem Cell Foundation. (2017a, October 11). https://nationalstemcellfoundation.org/glossary/autoimmune-disease/
Autoimmune disease. National Stem Cell Foundation. (2017b, October 11). https://nationalstemcellfoundation.org/glossary/autoimmune-disease/
