Sign In | Sign Up | Help | Invite    
Advanced Search Ask A Question Community Recent Changes
My:             Contributions   
Contributors
{for ul in pageInfo.page}
${ul.nickName}
{var al = toBreakWord(ul.adUrl,18)} {if ul.adSentence !=''}${ul.adSentence}
{/if} {if ul.adUrl !=''}${al}
{/if}
 
{/for}
Earn Free Advertising   +   Earn Money By Writing What You Know at WISTEME.COM
Question Discussion History

Edit
    Question ID:   8766         Current Version: 1
Question: What is an autoimmune disease?
Category: Diseases & Conditions > Other
Keywords: autoimmune disease, disorder
Type: what
Rating:(0 ratings)    Views: 403    Discussions: 0   In Watch Lists: 1  

 
    Answer:

An autoimmune disease occurs when the body's immune system becomes misdirected and attacks the very organs, cells, or tissues that it is supposed to protect. About 75% of autoimmune diseases occur in women, most often during their childbearing years.

Our bodies have an immune system, which is a complex network of special cells and organs that defends the body from germs and other foreign invaders. At the core of the immune system is the ability to tell the difference between self and nonself: what's you and what's foreign. A flaw can make the body unable to tell the difference between self and nonself. When this happens, the body makes autoantibodies (AW-toh-AN-teye-bah-deez) that attack normal cells by mistake. At the same time special cells called regulatory T cells fail to do their job of keeping the immune system in line. The result is a misguided attack on your own body. This causes the damage we know as autoimmune disease. The body parts that are affected depend on the type of autoimmune disease. There are more than 80 known types. 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Read more questions from WISTEME through
     Add to MSN Add to My AOL
 Rate this Question
   Add to Groups   Add to Watch Lists   Share Question
                          
 
    More Readings :
[QID:3785]    What do I need to know about vitiligo?  
[QID:3761]    What do I need to know about lupus?  
[QID:10021]    What is a bleeding disorder?  
[QID:9662]    What are personality disorders?  
[QID:9906]    What do we know about the causes of communication disorders?  
[QID:9873]    What is a communication disorder?  
[QID:9726]    What are sleep disorders?  
[QID:9066]    What is a genetic disorder?  
[QID:7537]    What is Learning Disorder (LD)?  
[QID:9925]    What is the impact of having a communication disorder?  
     Question ID:  ${question.id}         Current Version:  ${question.version}

{for qh in questionHistory} {if qh.status == 'r'} {else} {/if} {/for}
Version Contributor Date (ET) Voting
${qh.version} ${qh.nickName} ${qh.date} Rejected
${qh.version} ${qh.nickName} ${qh.date} {if qh.status != 'c'} {if qh.status == 'a'} Approved {else} {if qh.rstatus == 'c'} On-going {else} Pending {/if} {/if} {else}   {/if}
Start a New Topic
ID Topics Replies Latest Post (ET)
{if dlist!=null} {for d in dlist} {/for}
${parseInt(d_index)+1} ${d.sentence} ${d.replyNum} ${d.lastestDate}
{else}
No discussion topic.
{/if}
Label Name:
 
Group Name:
 
 
{else}
     You have no group.
{/if}
Advertisements
{if advertisements.length > 0} {else} {/if}
{for ad in advertisements}
${ad.adTitle}
${ad.adSentence}
${ad.adUrl}
{/for}

Home | About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Browse Questions | RSS Feed

Copyright ©2010 WISTEME LLC. All Rights Reserved.