The intent of treatment for Autoimmune Disorders is to reduce symptoms, control the autoimmune process, and maintain the body’s ability to fight disease.  The treatments used depend on the disease and the symptoms of the individual.

Some patients may need supplements to supersede a hormone or vitamin that the body is missing.  Some examples include thyroid vitamins, supplements or insulin injections.

If the patient’s autoimmune disorder effects the blood, it is possible that you will need blood transfusions.

Patients with autoimmune disorders that affect the bones, muscles or joints, may require help with movement as well as other functions.

Medicines are often prescribed to check or reduce the immune system’s response.  These medications are often called immunosuppressive medicines.  Medicines like this may include corticosteroids (like prednisone) and nonsteroid drugs such as cyclophosphamide, tacrolimus or azathioprine.

Systemic Autoimmune 

 

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Scleroderma

Lupus

Sjogren’s Syndrome

Wegener’s Granuomatosis

Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Goodpasture’s Syndrome

Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Localized Autoimmune Diseases

Multiple Sclerosis

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Temporal Arteritis / Gian Cell Arteritis

Celiac Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis

Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, Sclerosing Cholangitis, Autoimmune Hepatitis

Addison’s Disease

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Graves’ Dsease

Autoimmune disorders are diseases caused by the body generating a disproportionate immune acknowledgement against the body’s own tissues.   At times the immune system will stop recognizing one or more of the body’s normal components as “self” and will create autoantibodies.  These antibodies then attack their own cells, organs and/or tissues.  This can cause inflammation and damage and leads to autoimmune disorders.

We do not know what causes autoimmune diseases, but it seems that people develop an inherited predisposition to autoimmune diseases in many cases.  It is also possible for a virus or bacteria to trigger an immune response.  When this happens the antibodies or T-cells attack normal healthy cells because they have a part of their structure that resembles a part of the structure of an infecting microorganism.

There are two general categories of autoimmune disorders.  There are those that damage many organs called systemic autoimmune diseases and those where only a single organ or tissue is damaged by the autoimmune process; this is considered a localized autoimmune disorder.  The distinction between the two does become blurred as the effect of localized autoimmune disorders generally extend beyond the targeted tissues, indirectly affecting other body systems as well as organs.