Pathophysiology

Pathophysiology Study Guide

©2018 of 131 There are about 80 autoimmune diseases that can be categorized as localized auto-immune diseases and systemic auto-immune diseases. These are discussed below: Localized Localized autoimmune diseases are auto-immune diseases that originally affect a single organ or tissue but extend to other organs of the body. Examples of these diseases are Addison's disease (affect adrenal), autoimmune hepatitis (liver), celiac disease (gastrointestinal tract), diabetes Mellitus type 1a (pancreas), Grave's disease (thyroid), Guillain-Barre syndrome (nervous system), Hashimoto's thyroiditis (thyroid), Pernicious anemia (stomach), ulcerative colitis (gastrointestinal tract), and Myasthenia gravis (nerves, muscles). One common localized autoimmune disease is Graves' disease in which the thyroid gland becomes overly active. Symptoms of this disease are improper sleeping, irritation, weight loss, bulge under eyes, heat sensitivity, weakness in muscles, shakiness in hands, light menstruation, and brittle hair. The most effective treatment for this disease is a dose of a radioactive iodine pill that helps to destroy the thyroid cells that have become overly active. Another localized autoimmune disease is Hashimoto's thyroiditis, in which the thyroid gland gets inflamed and the thyroid cells become underactive. The cause of Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an immune system attack. Symptoms of this disease are enlargement of the thyroid gland, leading to the formation of a visible goiter in the neck, gain in weight, fatigue, depression, weakness in muscles, sensitivity to cold, constipation, and dryness in skin and hair. There is no treatment when the disease is mild, but if it gets severe and the goiter forms, it can be treated using hormone replacement therapy. Generalized or Systemic Systemic autoimmune diseases are auto-immune diseases that are not localized to a particular site in the body, but affect multiple tissues and organs at the same time. These auto-immune diseases are further classified as rheumatologic or connective tissue disease, and vasculitis diseases or diseases related to inflammation of blood vessels. Some rheumatological diseases are antiphospholipid antibody syndromes (affecting blood cells), dermatomyositis (affecting skin and muscles), polymyalgia rheumatica (large muscle groups), rheumatoid arthritis (joints, less commonly lungs, skin, eyes), scleroderma (skin, intestine, less commonly lungs, kidneys), and systemic lupus erythematosus (skin, joints, kidneys, heart, brain, red blood cells). In contrast, vasculitis disorders are not common and generally impact the skin and internal organs. Some vasculitis disorders include giant cell (temporal), arteritis (arteries of the head and neck), central nervous system vasculitis (brain), Kawasaki syndrome (skin, mucous membranes, lymph nodes, blood vessels), Churg-Strauss syndrome (lungs, skin, nerves), cryoglobulinaemia (skin, kidneys, nerves), Goodpasture’s syndrome (lungs, kidneys), Henoch-Schonlein purpura (skin, joints, kidneys, gut), microscopic polyangiitis (skin, kidneys, nerves), and Wegener’s granulomatosis (sinuses, lungs, kidneys, skin). A common systemic auto-immune disease is systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) wherein the immune system produces antibodies, which in turn, attack the body, leading to damaged joints and Achieve Page 33