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. From cardiology to gastroenterology and pulmonology, form implies function. It is no mystery, for example, why a blood clot between the heart and lungs causes shortness of breath, problems with oxygenation, and strain on the muscles of the heart.
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.
The scope of the problem is tremendous. The NIH has estimated that more than 23 million Americanssuffer from autoimmune diseases—a burden associated with a health-care cost of $100 billion per year. And the morbidity and mortality attributable to autoimmune conditions cannot be ignored. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a 60 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, for example. And patients with systemic sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that causes thickened, tight skin and disruption of the normal structure and function of organs such as the heart, lungs, GI tract, and kidneys, experience a loss of life expectancy of 16 years in men and 34 years in women.
Link to full story at TheScientist