Auto-Immune disorders Flashcards
What are the effects of autoimmunity?
(Herrington, 2019)
- tissue destruction
- antibodies block normal functionand stimulate innappropriate functions
- antigen-antibody complexes affect function
What is autoimmunity?
(Herrington, 2019)
- an intolerance against own body with own cells acting against each other
What are the two types of autoimmune disorders?
(Herrington, 2019)
- organ-specific: e.g. diabetes (pancreas), Grave’s disease (thyroid), Chron’s (intestine)
- Systemic: e.g. lupus (blood), whole body
List some factors influencing the likelihood of developing autoimmune diseases.
(Herrington, 2019)
- age- often starts between 15-44
- gender- mostly affects women
- environment- chemicals, infections, stress
- genetics and ethnic groups
- altered microbiome
- diet
What are auto-inflammatory diseases?
(Herrington, 2019)
- the dysregulation and overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines causing the inate immune system to become activated, attacking and damaging host tissues
Why do auto-inflammatory diseases occur?
(Herrington, 2019)
- abnormalities in the adaptive immune system cause hyperactivation of the innate immune system
- they are treated by blocking in the inflammatory pathway
How are auto-immune disorders treated?
(Herrington, 2019)
- Immunosuppression
- Removal of thymus
- Plasmapheresis (remove Antibody-Antigen complexes (bindings))
- T-cell vaccination (activate supressing T-cells)
- Stem cell transplant
What is Crohn’s disease?
(Herrington, 2019)
- a type os IBS
- inflamation occurs anywhere in GI tract, with pacthes of inflammation found in large sections of the bowel
- pain is usually felt in the lower right abdomen, and ulcers penetrate the entire thickness of the abdominal lining
- blood is usually not found in stool
How is IBS managed?
(Herrington, 2019)
- depends on the symptoms and overall health
- nutrional management and lifestyle modifications may help reduce the symptoms
- medical therapies such as anti-inflammatory drugs, and steriods may help
- surgical therapies may also be an option if medications dont work
What is rheumatiod arthritis?
(Herrington, 2019)
- chronic inflammatory disease causing pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joint
- triggers are unknown, may be envrionmental or genetic
- can cause bone or cartilage damage
- treatment aims to decrease joint pain and swelling, achieve clinical remission, and minimise disability
What is lupus?
(Herrington, 2019)
- a chronic, multi system inflammatory disease
- results in damage to essentially any organ
injury to skin, joints, kidney
What are the signs and symptoms of lupus and how are they managed?
(Herrington, 2019)
- painful and swollen joints
- muscle pain
- rashes
- chest pain
- hair loss
- swollen glands
- mouth ulcers
- extreme fatigue
holistic management can reduce risk of flare ups.
lifestyle interventions: smoking, no sunlight, antimalarials and
immunosuppressants when needed
What is multiple sclerosis?
(Porten et al, 2017)
progressive demyelinating (destruction of fatty protiens) around certain nerve fibres in the CNS
- immune mediated and progressive
- diagnosed by MRI
How does MS occur?
(Porten et al, 2017)
- misguided T cells cross the blood brain barrier into the CNS
- these T cells release chemicals that force the immune system to attack the myelin coating around nerve cells, causing inflammation and destruction
- once these cells have been damaged the nerve signals are slowed/stopped
- MS lesions form, impairing normal myelin repair processes
What are the symptoms of MS?
(Porten et al, 2017)
- numbness
- tingling
- headache
- speech/ swallowing problems
- breathing problems
- muscle spasms
- bladder and bowel dysnfuction
- walking difficulties
