Abstract

Autoimmunity Is an adaptive immune response to self antigens leading to

production of autoantibodies and self reactive T cells attacking the self molecule
due to a breakdown of immune tolerance to auto-reactive immune cells which
may causes autoimmune diseases. Tolerance mechanisms have evolved to
distinguish self and nonself, and block the development of growth, or
differentiation of autoreactive lymphocytes. If the tolerance is acquired early in
life probably in uteri it is autotolerance.
Immunological tolerance to different autoantigens may be induced when
immature lymphocytes recognize these antigens in the generative (central)
lymphoid organs, a process called central tolerance, or when mature
lymphocytes encounter autoantigens in peripheral (secondary) lymphoid organs
or peripheral tissues, called peripheral tolerance.Tolerance induction and
maintenance mechanisms vary between the B and T cells and the central and
peripheral lymphoid. The failure of that auto-tolerance may result in
autoimmune disease.
Autoimmune disorders are a spectrum of diseases ranging from organ-specific
diseases in which antibodies and T cells respond to self-antigens found in a
single specific tissue(such autoimmune thyroid diseases : Grav's disease,
myxodema and Hashimoto's disease) to systemic diseases characterized by
reactivity to a common antigen or antigens distributed across the body's various
tissues (such that occurs in SLE and rheumatoid arthritis).
In Rheumatoid arthritis, the cause of such disease may be Genetic and
environmental factors. Synovial cell hyperplasia and endothelial cell activation
are early events that lead to uncontrolled inflammation and cartilage and bone
destruction.The most cause of cartilage damage in rheumatoid arthritis is
hyperplastic synovium. Diagnosis of Rheumatoid arthritis disease can be done
by blood test, Imaging tests, ELISA Test To detect anti-CCP antibodies and
Multiplex cytofluorimetric test Which is more sensitive and specific.
In Graves' disease, There is production of thyroid-stimulating antibodies which
recognize and activate thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor, the function of
these receptors is stimulating the growth and the function of follicular cells of
thyroid which lead to increase of production of thyroid hormones (both T3 and
T4).There's heterogeneous lymphatic infiltration of the thyroid parenchyma and
retro-orbital region. Diagnosis of Grav's disease is done by Physical
examinations to the eye and thyroid gland, blood tests to determine TSH and
thyroid hormones levels, Radioactive iodine uptake to measure the amount of it
in the thyroid gland, so we are able to determine the rate at which the thyroid
gland uptakes the iodine, Ultrasound waves and Imaging tests.
Systemic lupus erythematosus characterized by the production of autoreactive
antibodies and cytokines. It may be due to genatic or environmental causes.
Treatment of auto-immune disease include NSAIDs, Corticosteroids,
Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), Biologics (A relatively
new class of DMARDs made of synthetic proteins), Intravenous
Immunoglobulin, Plasmapheresis (a process that clears the plasma from
autoantibodies) and Surgery to cope with certain autoimmune disease
complications.