Autoimmunity as a Possible Side-Effect of Cancer Immunity

It has long been hypothesized that there is a link between autoimmune conditions and the immune response to cancer, and this article covers some of the high points. Autoimmune conditions are a set of complicated failure modes in a very complex system, in which the immune system attacks the patient's own tissues. They are perhaps the least well understood diseases, and this is reflected in the poor state of treatments for autoimmunity: no cures, and the best that can be done for patients is to dampen the overall immune response. Any path forward that grants additional insight into the early development of autoimmunity is welcome. Generations of in-depth research into human anatomy, histology, and basic physiology have largely explained the physical manifestations of diseases affecting nearly every organ of the body. Yet there remains an entire class of illnesses that present systemically, do not respect the boundaries of organ systems, and wreak havoc on quality of life and longevity. And we still have little idea of what starts the vicious cascade in the first place. This category of maladies is called autoimmune disease, and it is our fundamental lack of knowledge about these disorders that so greatly hinders our ability to prevent, diagnose, and treat them. There is much we know, or think we know, about the risk factors and manifestations of autoimmune disease, and we even have some diagnostic tests for antibodies that often closely correlate with specific subtypes of dis...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs