Scientists Make Important Finding on Virus' Role in Autoimmune Diseases
I can point to specific years in which my arthritis got worse, I can also point out that within 6 months before that point I had a severe case of Bronchitis. This could be a big development in arthritis in making a push for prevention of viruses or treatments after having an illness.
La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology Scientists Make Important Finding on Virus' Role in Autoimmune Diseases
BIOWIRE2K SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 2004-- Research Could Lead to Future Treatment Advances for Diabetes and Other Autoimmune Diseases Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have added a significant milestone to scientific understanding of the role viruses play in the development of autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes. Matthias von Herrath,M.D., and a team of scientists found that while viruses alone do not initiate autoimmune diseases, they can accelerate their development when paired with a genetic predisposition to autoimmune diseases.
This discovery, based on controlled laboratory studies of mice, represents the first demonstration in a living organism of the ability of viruses to increase the likelihood of the development of autoimmune diseases. The finding is an important advance and could help in the future development of therapies for the treatment or prevention of diabetes and other autoimmune illnesses.
The finding was published Monday in a scientific paper in the Journal of Clinical Investigation entitled, "A Viral Epitope that Mimics a Self Antigen Can Accelerate But Not Initiate Autoimmune Diabetes." In autoimmune diseases,the immune system, which normally wards off invading viruses and bacteria, instead mistakenly attacks normal body tissues, leading to illness. Dr. vonHerrath's study dealt with the autoimmune form or type I diabetes, but the findings can also be applied to other autoimmune diseases. Examples of other autoimmune diseases include lupus or SLE, multiple sclerosis (MS), and rheumatoid arthritis.