What are autoimmune diseases?

Autoimmune diseases are when the otherwise healthy immune system in humans begins to attack the body’s tissues and organs. It mistakenly believes that these cells are foreign objects and works to get rid of them diligently. Most autoimmune diseases begin to occur shortly after puberty and will continue throughout the lifetime of the person. There are times when the disease can go into remission but there is always the chance that it will flare up again. These diseases can attack a variety of organs and lead to several painful conditions that can be debilitating. Researchers and doctors work tirelessly to discover what has caused the immune system to begin attacking its own body.

What medicines are available for autoimmune diseases?

There are many medicines that can help autoimmune diseases go into remission but each medication varies according to the particular disease. Many people can find relief with simple over the counter medications that can ease the inflammation of their joints if that particular disease affects joint and muscle coordination. Other’s with more severe diseases may need drugs that help with suppressing the immune system, sleep deprivation, depression or anxiety. The right cocktail of medications is discussed with your doctor to determine what the best course for pharmaceutical therapy is.

Are autoimmune diseases curable?

Unfortunately autoimmune diseases have no known cure at this time. Researchers work diligently to find out why the disease manifests itself initially and what has triggered the disease. They do not know if it is hereditary or simply something that occurs in some people. Perhaps one day there will be a cure for each of the autoimmune diseases that plague people but until that time there is only disease management and medicines to help with the secondary ailments that are manifested by the disease.

More On: Common Autoimmune Diseases Questions

Technorati Tags: autoimmune diseases

Quickly bookmark Your Autoimmune Diseases Questions at:                                                

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 at 4:53 am and is filed under Health & Beauty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.