Autoimmune Diseases on the Rise

By Kurt N. Woeller, D.O. & Tracy Tranchitella, N.D.

Autoimmunity is a situation when our immune system begins to attack our own body tissue as though it was a foreign microbe or toxin. There are many different autoimmune diseases such as Type I Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, and Rheumatoid Arthritis. In fact, there are about one-hundred different autoimmune diseases that plague anywhere between 5-9% of the world’s population. Currently, approximately 52 million Americans (16% of the US population) suffer from autoimmune and related disorders, but an increasing amount, about 41 million people, are in the process of developing an autoimmune disease without having any clinical symptoms.

Screening for an autoimmune disease at the subclinical stage provides a window of opportunity for potential intervention. All autoimmune diseases develop through a series of stages which include initiation, activation, propagation, symptom presentation, tissue damage, and degeneration. People in the initiation phase may not have any symptoms, even though blood testing can indicate problems, such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA, linked to connective tissue diseases), double stranded DNA (dsDNA, linked to systemic lupus) and/or anti-actin antibodies (linked to autoimmune hepatitis). Immunoscience Laboratory provides various test panels for immune system imbalances and dysfunction. Their Comprehensive Autoimmune Profile (#2011) is an excellent screening assessment for various autoimmune markers. If one or more markers are positive, further assessment should be done. One such panel that provides in-depth information is the Multiple Autoimmune Reactivity Screen (Array 5) from Cyrex Laboratory. Autoimmune diseases can be challenging to diagnose, so starting with a screening assessment like the Comprehensive Autoimmune Profile from Immunoscience Laboratory is a good place to start.

For more information about immune testing, autoimmune marker assessment or other questions related to autoimmune diseases, please contact our practice here.