Anisman. Health Psychology. by Hymie Anisman

Author:Hymie Anisman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-02-25T14:37:14.515228+00:00

Autoimmune Disorders

Despite the immune system being reasonably effective in protecting us from an assortment of microbes, there are occasions in which it seems confused, and instead of focusing on external challenges, it turns against us, resulting in autoimmune disorders in which our own organs or tissues are attacked. There are about 75–80 disorders that are known or suspected to fall into this class, with their combined overall prevalence being about 8% in developed countries. For most of these illnesses, the frequency is far greater in females (70–90%) than in males. The view is often taken that females carry particular vulnerability factors that place them at increased risk for such disorders, but it is possible instead that males carry a protective factor so that they’re less likely to be affected.

The processes responsible for these disorders vary from one another, even though many are comorbid conditions, and the course of the illnesses can be exacerbated by common factors. It is possible, for instance, that autoimmune disorders involve a gene variant that influences T helper cells so that normal cells are attacked more readily, or cells that normally suppress immune functioning aren’t operating efficiently. In conjunction with these operations, still other genetic variants might determine which specific aspect of the body will be attacked. In this regard, the ‘autoimmine regulator’ gene (AIRE) is responsible for training immune cells to ignore self-made antigens, and attack only those that are foreign. However, it was suggested that a child who inherits two mutated versions of the AIRE gene (and it seems that this may even occur with a mutation on one allele) won’t have the ability to examine immune cells as to their competency, and as a result some of them may turn on the body’s own organs (Oftedal et al., 2015). In essence, if immune activity persists when it should be turned off, it can ultimately lead to the immune system attacking the self. As we’ll see in covering several autoimmune disorders, there is currently no cure for most of these conditions; some can be managed to an appreciable extent, whereas others seem to have so far eluded our abilities.

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