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Understanding the role played by the bodys immune system in the progress of rheumatoid arthritis. Share this: Font size: AAA WebMD Feature Archive By Annie Stuart WebMD Feature Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD What do rheumatoid arthritis (RA), type 1 diabetes, Graves' disease, and multiple sclerosis have in common? One affects joints, another blood sugar. One puts the thyroid into overdrive. And the last condition affects the brain and spinal cord. Although the diseases seem pretty different, there is one common denominator. They are all believed to be autoimmune diseases. RA is one of about 80 different types of autoimmune diseases. After cancer and heart disease, autoimmune diseases are the most common type of disease in the U.S., affecting 50 million Americans. Women make up nearly eight out of every 10 people with an autoimmune disease. Recommended Related to Rheumatoid Arthritis Young Adults Living With RA Last winter, after spending a few afternoons shoveling snow, Heather Miceli, 27, woke up in the middle of the night and couldnt get out of bed. My joints had swelled up so much that I couldnt move without crying, she says. Two months later, the college professor at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, R.I., who had always been healthy, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) -- a debilitating autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and swelling in the joints and surrounding tissues,... Read the Young Adults Living With RA article > > What is the common link between autoimmune diseases? And how does autoimmunity lead to rheumatoid arthritis? Heres what you need to know.
He tells WebMD that the body can tell what is a threat and what isnt. When you have a cut on your finger, for example, you may end up with a small infection caused by germs that enter the wound. This prompts a type of immune response known as inflammation -- often marked by redness, swelling, heat, and pain. Then the immune systems white blood cells heal the wound and remove the infection.
system with autoimmune diseases. A diet rich in antioxidants and smoking cessation are good places to begin in reducing inflammation, he says.
Smoking Parvovirus B19, also known as fifth disease Epstein-Barr virus, a prominent infectious agent Bacterial gum disease (periodontitis)
Recent studies show that smoking tobacco modifies proteins in the lungs, says Peyman. These modified proteins are similar to those showing up in inflamed joints. Cells travel from the lungs to an injured joint, where the immune system reacts strongly, causing ongoing inflammation.
A similar process can happen with an infection. In people with genetic susceptibility, a minor localized infection in the mouth, for example, can trick the immune system into looking other places for modified proteins. This can lead to a smoldering additional inflammation in the body, which chronically attacks the joints, Peyman says. This molecular mimicry is the basis of much of the research into the immunology of autoimmune disease, Peyman says. Researchers are trying to find which components of a microbe or environmental insult are similar to the known targets of the immune system in autoimmune diseases. With rheumatoid arthritis, this has been a decades-long quest.