Autoimmune Diseases

Autoimmune diseases are caused by the immune system of the body being overly active which causes it to attack the body’s own tissues. This results into a very weak immune system that cannot help the body fight against other disease causing microorganisms. Therefore, the treatment of autoimmune disorders aims at lowering the immune system’s activity. The diseases may either affect one or more body tissues and most commonly they alter the body organs functionality.

The major cause of the autoimmune diseases remains unknown. However, there are theories about their causes such as; certain drugs, bacteria, virus, environmental toxins and chemical substances. They are also hereditary diseases, so one is more susceptible if a member of their family suffers from such.

There are many types of autoimmune diseases, some of which are more common to others. Some of them include:

l Lupus erythematosus, a condition that commonly presents with joint pains and also affects other organs such as the kidneys, brain and skin.

l Rheumatoid arthritis, is the most common type of autoimmune disease. It is characterized by swelling of the joints and the surrounding tissues.

l Psoriasis, is an autoimmune disease that affects the skin causing it to develop dense, scaly, silver-white patches together with an irritation.

l Inflammatory bowel syndrome, affects the small and large intestines by causing inflammation.

l Type 1 diabetes, characterized by destruction of the cells beta cells which produce insulin at the pancreas.

l Vitiligo, is an autoimmune disorder in which patients develop white patches around the face, neck and hands due to loss of pigmentation.

l Pernicious anemia is a type of anemia caused by a low red cell count as a result of the body’s inability to absorb vitamin B12 from the stomach.

l Hashimoto’s disease is inflammation of the thyroid gland.

l Sjogren’s syndrome is a condition that results in destruction of the tears and saliva glands thus causing dry mouth and eyes.

These diseases do not have a cure yet, but they can be managed so as to reduce the pain, inflammations and other symptoms. There are both pharmacological and non-pharmacological ways of alleviating the symptoms. The non-pharmacological ways include practices such as:

l Eating a well-balanced diet

l Exercising regularly

l Reducing stress

l Limiting oneself to sun exposure

l Resting enough

When the disease is advanced, the patients with require medical treatments especially during attacks such as in rheumatoid arthritis. The most common treatments used are:

• Immunosuppressive therapies
• Analgesics to alleviate pain
• Anti-inflammatory drugs to stop inflammation.
• Hormone replacement therapy such as in Hashimoto’s disease
• Physical therapy

Some of the medications prescription drugs used to treat autoimmune disorders include: Imuran, Azasan, Purinethol, Azathioprine, Mercaptopurine.  Some patients suffer the various side effects that can occur with these medications.

In recent researches, medical marijuana has been found to be medicalally effective in autoimmune diseases. Following a study that was carried out by students at South Carolina, they used tetrahydrocannabinol to suppress the immune system of rodents successfully. This is an implication that if the same is used in humans it will suppress the overly active immune system as well. Dr. Mitzi says that “Tetrahydrocannabinol can suppress inflammation through activation of cannabinoid receptors on immune cells, using multiple pathways.” (Nagarkatti 2014).

References

1. Nagarkatti, Dr mitzi. 2014. “Benefits of tetrahydrocannabinol.” Journal of Biological Chemistry.
2. http://www.ifliscience.com/health-and-medicine/medical-marijuana-shows-promise-against-autoimmune-diseases/

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