Feature Channels: Autoimmune Diseases

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Inaugural Autoimmune Walk in Evanston, Illinois encourages participants to "Link Together" and "Walk for a Cure."

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Newfound details of the immune system suggest a role for never-before-considered drug classes in the treatment of allergic and autoimmune diseases, according to a University of Alabama at Birmingham study published online today in Nature Immunology. The results advance the current understanding of the way the body’s initial, vague reaction to any invading organism expands into a precise and massive counterattack.

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Research demonstrates how dying or damaged brain cells give rise to autoantibodies in blood that can be reliable biomarkers for early AD diagnosis. Key mechanism mirrors process common to autoimmune disorders.

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Heart disease risk assessment tools commonly used by physicians often underestimate the cardiovascular disease danger faced by rheumatoid arthritis patients, a Mayo Clinic study has found.

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A new study led by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery identifies the mechanism by which a cell signaling pathway contributes to the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

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Arthritis month highlights importance of clinical expertise, research and technology to aid in earlier identification of joint diseases, better long-term outcomes.

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Throughout the month of May, the American College of Rheumatology, Arthritis Foundation, Mayo Clinic, and Nemours are partnering to celebrate Arthritis Action Month (formerly Arthritis Awareness Month).

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May is Arthritis Action Month, held to draw attention to the more than 100 forms of arthritis that afflict at least 50 million people in the United States and collectively cost more to treat than cancer.

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Obesity and the painful autoimmune disorder rheumatoid arthritis are each becoming more common, raising a logical question: Could one have something to do with the other? For women, it appears there is a link, Mayo Clinic researchers say.

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After losing her sister to an autoimmune disease almost 15 years ago, "Army Wives" star Kellie Martin will serve as AARDA's "Autoimmune Walk" Ambassador.

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Add lower gastrointestinal (GI) problems such as ulcers, bleeding and perforations to the list of serious complications facing many rheumatoid arthritis patients. They are at greater risk for GI problems and gastrointestinal-related death than people without the disease, a Mayo Clinic study shows.

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A trend toward more aggressive treatment in patients just starting to develop rheumatoid arthritis is among the most important changes in treatment guidelines for the disease, according to updated American College of Rheumatology guidelines published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

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Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists have developed a way to recreate an individual’s immune system in a mouse. The “personalized immune mouse” offers researchers an unprecedented tool for individualized analysis of abnormalities that contribute to type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, starting at the onset of disease. The findings were published today in the online edition of Science Translational Medicine.

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Research suggests that a class of drugs for rheumatoid arthritis seeking approval this year could be effective against other autoimmune diseases.

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March is National Autoimmune Diseases Awareness Month, and the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) is working to educate the public on risk factors, prevalence, and the severe lack of awareness surrounding autoimmune diseases. During March, AARDA hopes to educate the public on the top five things everyone should know about autoimmune disease.

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Evolutionary biologist Harmit Singh Malik, Ph.D., of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has received a $300,000 grant from the Lupus Research Institute to study the potential role of “genetic conflicts” in the development of lupus, an autoimmune disease.

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Survey shows that infertiliy problems and pregnancy complications are much more common for women with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus .

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Ultrasound is transforming the way arthritis is diagnosed and treated, making evaluation and treatment quicker and more accurate. The new approach is dubbed fast arthritis sonographic evaluation and treatment, or FAST, by rheumatologists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center who are leading its development.

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Last week a U.S. company announced initial Phase I/II clinical trial results for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).

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A recent study conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), shows that 32 million people in the United States have autoantibodies, the most common of which are antinuclear antibodies (ANA). According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), while the study is significant in that it is the first to investigate the presence of autoantibodies in the U.S. population, the results are far from unexpected. “"The study does not surprise us at AARDA as we have known that the number of autoimmune diseases have been increasing significantly within the past decade.  What we don't know is why,” says AARDA’s President and Executive Director Virginia T. Ladd.

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More than 32 million people in the United States have autoantibodies, which are proteins made by the immune system that target the body’s tissues and define a condition known as autoimmunity, a study shows. The first nationally representative sample looking at the prevalence of the most common type of autoantibody, known as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), found that the frequency of ANA is highest among women, older individuals, and African-Americans. The study was conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers in Gainesville at the University of Florida also participated.

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A Boise State University study has shed new light on how proteins interact, or bind, with one another in tissues. Boise State biologists found that a protein called collagen XI interacts with specific proteins in the part of the tissue that provides structural support to the cell.

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• Women who had both ovaries removed before age 45 had lower bone mineral density, an important predictor of osteoporosis, than women with intact ovaries. • These women were also more likely to report a diagnosis of arthritis. • Few other studies have measured bone mineral density among women who underwent oophorectomy.

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Mayo Clinic researchers have identified critical steps leading to myelin destruction in neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a debilitating neurological disease that is commonly misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings could lead to better care for the thousands of patients around the world with NMO. The paper was published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.

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An international study finds that the immunosuppressant drug mycophenolate mofetil is superior to azathioprine, an older immunosuppressant, as a maintenance therapy for lupus nephritis. Dr. Mary Anne Dooley of UNC is first author of the study.

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Biologic drugs have revolutionized treatment of autoimmune diseases during the past decade despite belief there is an increased risk for serious infections from using them. But new research from UAB reveals that a class of biologics called tumor necrosis factor antagonists, or TNF inhibitors, may only minimally increase risk compared to more traditional therapies.

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Children with juvenile arthritis who are treated early and aggressively have better outcomes, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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The first study to report the effects vitamin D has on the immune system of people with lupus was reported this week a the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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A new study presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago offers reassurances for women with stable lupus who are considering pregnancy.

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Early and appropriate treatment by a rheumatologist may decrease costly interventions —such as orthopedic surgery — in people with rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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Anti-inflammatory pain relievers can slow the progression of ankylosing spondylitis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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The first study to show results using active immunotherapy against the signaling protein interferon alpha in the treatment of lupus will be presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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Exposure to some types of air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide — one of the six most common pollutants in the United States — is associated with a somewhat increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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Women with rheumatoid arthritis are not only at an increased risk of fractures, but are also at an increased risk of suffering a fracture before they reach the age of 50, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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The presence of syndesmophytes (bony growths in the spine), acute phase reactants (proteins that are released into the blood in response to inflammation), and smoking status can all serve as predictors for the progression of structural damage in the spine in people with spondyloarthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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The live attenuated shingles (herpes zoster) vaccine (Zostavax®) does not appear to increase the short-term risk of developing shingles infection in people taking biologics for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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Treatment with a biologic agent reduces fatigue in people with rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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According to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, people taking anti-tumor necrosis factor therapies to treat rheumatoid arthritis have a higher risk of developing malignant melanoma.

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According to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago, patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have low levels of inflammatory disease activity have lower risk for heart complications and stroke.

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Anti tumor necrosis factor therapy does not increase the overall risk of solid cancer in people with rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

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Taking methotrexate or anti-TNFs is associated with a reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease in people with rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago

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Women under 50 with rheumatoid arthritis are at greater risk of breaking bones than women without the condition, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual scientific meeting in Chicago.

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Promising research led by investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery may offer hope for women with lupus who once thought that pregnancy was too risky.

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A study being presented at the 2011 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology finds that many lupus patients with low socioeconomic status are unable to attend scheduled appointments with physicians due to daily obstacles.

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As guidelines recommend, doctors appear to be stopping anti-TNF medications before surgery, but may be doing so far sooner than is necessary, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery.

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In patients with a devastating form of vasculitis who are in remission, stress can be associated with a greater likelihood of the disease flaring, according to a new study by investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery.

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Compared with osteoarthritis patients, individuals with rheumatoid arthritis who undergo total knee replacement surgery have lower expectations about their postsurgical outcomes, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery.

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Universal screening for autoimmune thyroid disease in the first trimester of pregnancy is cost-effective compared with screening of only high-risk women. Both the risk-based and universal screening options are cost-effective when relative to no screening.

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1) The current classification system for the kidney disorder called lupus nephritis is too detailed. 2) Physicians would benefit from a simpler classification system when they treat kidney problems in patients with lupus. 3) Lupus nephritis affects approximately 3 out of every 10,000 people, and it can be serious and lead to kidney failure.

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Research being undertaken at the University of Adelaide and Women’s and Children’s Hospital is providing vital clues into the causes of autoimmune diseases which affect millions of people around the world.