Autoimmune

An autoimmune disease is a condition characterized by an attack by the immune system on another part of the body. An autoimmune disorder may have a variety of causes, and can affect any part of the body. It is not always certain why an autoimmune disease will develop, or why an autoimmune disorder will result in complications.

Chagas Disease

Chagas Disease is an autoimmune disease that normally develops as a result of a tropical infection. Chagas Disease can also be spread by blood transfusion, organ transplants, or by consuming food which feature the parasite responsible for Chagas Disease. One of the defining symptoms of Chagas Disease is inflammation or swelling of the eyelids.

Rheumatic Fever

Rheumatic Fever usually develops following a streptococcal infection. This autoimmune disorder shares a similar naming convention with rheumatism because Rheumatic Fever symptoms are shared with rheumatism. One of the most common Rheumatic Fever symptoms is the acute inflammation of the large joints in the body. Rheumatic Fever is rare in the United States, although it is still a very serious condition.

Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Polymyalgia Rheumatica is characterized by pain in many muscles. Polymyalgia Rheumatica is typically treated with a long course of oral steroids. Temporal arteritis is often found alongside in individuals who have Polymyalgia Rheumatica. Adenovirus, the human parvovirus B19, and the human parainfluenza virus are thought to play a primary role in developing the autoimmune disease.

Guillain Barre Syndrome

Guillain Barre Syndrome is an autoimmune disorder that is the primary cause of paralysis that does not result from trauma. Guillain Barre Syndrome is characterized by paralysis that begins in the legs before radiating through the body before finally reaching the facial muscles. A related condition, Miller Fisher Syndrome, begins in the head and terminates in the legs. This type of autoimmune system disorder which affects the peripheral is very rare, but very serious.

Addison's Disease

Addison's Disease is a rare adrenal disorder which is believed to be caused by an autoimmune disease. Addison's Disease often manifests with type 1 Diabetes. Autoimmune thyroid diseases such as Hashimoto's tyroiditis and goiter, and viriligo. Before Addison's Disease is diagnosed or if Addison's Disease is not managed, and adrenal crisis may develop.

Autoimmune Hepatitis

Autoimmune Hepatitis is a chronic inflammation of the liver that may develop due to an autoimmune disorder, although there may be a risk that there may be a genetic predisposition towards Autoimmune Hepatitis. It is possible that Autoimmune Hepatitis may contribute to the development of cirrhosis. Autoimmune Hepatitis can best be determined through clinical, laboratory, and histological analysis.

Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

A list of autoimmune diseases will inevitably contain at least one autoimmune thyroid disease. The first autoimmune thyroid disease to be added to a list of autoimmune diseases was Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Two side effects of many conditions on a list of autoimmune diseases are hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, the under or over production of thyroid hormones, respectively.

Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia

Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia occurs when the body enters an anemic state because an autoimmune disorder causes the body to attack the body's own red blood cells. Since red blood cells are one of the primary locations in which iron is stored, the inability of the cells to obtain this iron results in anemic complications. Symptoms of Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia include pallor, heart failure, fainting, and chest pain.

Autoimmune Pancreatitis

Autoimmune Pancreatitis is an autoimmune disease which features an attack by the autoimmune system on the pancreas of the patient. Autoimmune Pancreatitis has only recently been diagnosed as a distinct type of pancreatitis, primarily due to the distinction that unlike other kinds of pancreatitis, this autoimmune disease responds well to steroids, such as prednisone.

Graves Disease

Graves' Disease is an autoimmune disease that affects the immune system with an attack of hyperthyroidism. Many people who suffer Graves' Disease will also develop Graves' ophthalmopathy, an irritation that results in a protrusion that can affect one or both eyes. Graves' Disease cannot be cured, and will persist even if the more prominent symptoms have been treated.

Kawasaki Disease

Kawasaki Disease is an autoimmune disorder that is primarily focused in the lymph nodes, skin, blood vessels, and mucous membranes. Kawasaki Disease results in these areas of the body becoming red and inflamed. Kawasaki Disease is named after Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki, the Japanese doctor who first described the condition in 1967.