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Autoimmune disease

    Nature Biotechnology volume 18, pages IT7–IT9 (2000)Cite this article

    Rapid progress in our understanding of immune function promises more effective treatments for autoimmune disorders.

    Autoimmune disorders occur when the body's immune system turns against the body itself, attacking as if it were a foreign pathogen. They comprise more than 50 distinct diseases and syndromes, and affect about 5% of the population in Europe and North America, with two thirds of the patients being female1. Examples of autoimmune disorders include rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes, cardiomyopathy, antiphospholipid syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Crohn's disease, Graves' disease, Sjogren's syndrome, alopecia, myasthenia gravis, lupus erythematosus, and psoriasis. In addition, such disorders complicate other diseases that are not autoimmune in origin, such as Duchenne's muscular dystrophy and artherosclerosis.

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    Autoimmune disease. Nat Biotechnol 18 (Suppl 10), IT7–IT9 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/80110

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/80110

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