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  • OUTLOOK

How pandemics strengthen links between viruses and autoimmunity

The body’s immune response to viruses has long been thought to spark autoimmune disease. A virus affecting millions of people could help researchers to finally know for sure.
  1. Anthony King

    1. Anthony King is a science writer in Dublin.

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Illustration of a small human figure trying to fend off giant virus particles

Credit: Daniel Stolle

When neurologist Russell Dale met a 15-year-old with an acute condition resembling Parkinson’s disease in 2000 while working in London, it was like seeing someone with an illness from a century ago.

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Nature 595, S48-S50 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01835-w

This article is part of Nature Outlook: Autoimmune disease, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content.

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