Auto-immune diseases happen with a malfunction

A healthy immune system fights off infections (whether germs, virus, fungi or parasites).  Our immune system does amazing work with little fanfare.  Without our immune system, we would live shorter lives.  But sometimes the immune system becomes ill and it malfunctions. One way it malfunctions is called auto-immune disease.   Auto-immune disease happens when the body’s immune system gets confused about ‘self’ vs. ‘non-self’ and begins attacking itself.  Auto-immune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus, type 1 diabetes (also called “juvenile onset diabetes”, psoriasis and multiple sclerosis.  

Some auto-immune diseases are treated with drugs which suppress the immune system.  For example, people dealing with rheumatoid arthritis may find their doctor prescribing drugs such as methotrexate, glucocorticoids and other drugs which control/suppress the immune system. 

What weakens our immune system?

Our immune system function can be weakened (depressed) by many factors.  According to the New World Encyclopedia website, malnutrition including bulimia, alcohol or drug abuse, and cigarette smoke all weaken a person’s immune system. 

A person going through chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer would find their immune system weakened by the treatments.  This explains why these people have frequent lab work drawn and their doctors make dosage adjustments based on their lab report.  The lab work drawn is often a complete blood count (CBC) which includes white blood cell counts.

Young children and older people often deal with a decreased immune system.  Stress and depression decrease a person’s immune function.  “Research shows that psychological stress can greatly increase your susceptibility to colds and other viral diseases, namely through an increase in serum corticosteroid levels.”  (New World Encyclopedia, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Immune_system 

Several diseases weaken the immune system.  These include cancer, diabetes mellitus, cystic fibrosis, sickle-cell disease, ulcerative colitis and HIV.

Organ transplants and the immune system

Have you heard about organ transplant patients having to take anti-rejection drugs?  The people involved with transplanting organs work to match the available organs and the receiving patient’s blood and body tissue as closely as possible. However, often the recipient must take anti-rejection drugs to quiet his body’s immune system and prevent it attacking (rejecting) the organ.   In this situation, the body’s normal response of ‘self’ vs. ‘non-self’ would result in an attack on the new organ because the body recognizes it’s a foreign tissue. The anti-rejection drugs would suppress this normal response. 

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother’s Day

“Who ran to help me when I fell. 

And would some pretty story tell,

Or kiss the place to make it well?

My Mother.”

Ann Taylor, My Mother, The Pocket Book of Quotations, (Pocket Books, New York: 1952), 237.

Throughout my life, I have been blessed with loving, caring women.  I wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day and say thank you for making our world a better place. 

More cool info about the immune system

Have you heard about killer T cells and helper T cells?  Both killer-T and helper-T cells are white blood cells called lymphocytes.  Killer T cells can recognize body cells which are infected by virus (or other infectious agents) and cause the cell to commit suicide and kill the virus inside.  They can also punch holes in the cell’s membrane and expose the virus inside to the body’s hostile, virus-killing actions.  Killer T-cells can also attack and destroy cancer (tumor) cells. The killer T-cells are controlled by the helper T cells.  The helper T lymphocytes make decisions such as what needs to be done and which chemicals should be released to kill the foreign invader.  HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus or the AIDS virus) causes such damage because it attacks the helper T cells.  Let’s hear it for the T cells who work hard to keep us healthy.  Yeah. 

Scientists talk about innate immunity vs. acquired immunity.  Innate immunity refers to the inherited immunity each person has when he is born.  Acquired immunity happens when our bodies make “antibodies” and T-cells which target a specific germs, virus, etc.  Think of the flu shot you took last fall.  When you got your flu shot, your body recognized the flu shot as a foreign substance and began to make antibodies (also called immunoglobulins).  Within a short time (days or maybe weeks), your body has developed antibodies against the flu.  The antibodies within your body should protect you and keep you healthy if you come in contact with those strains of flu.  Vaccinations work in the same way:  our body responds to the vaccine by building antibodies which then protect us.  (Some vaccinations need booster vaccines to continue long term protection.  For example, tetanus shots are recommended every 10 years.) http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Immune_system 

Immune system--What parts of the body are involved?

What parts of the body are involved in the work of the immune system?  Lymphoid organs such as adenoids, tonsils, spleen, thymus and appendix are involved in protecting the body.  The bone marrow (the soft spongy inside part of bones) makes blood cells.  Several types of the white blood cells are important to a properly functioning immune system. The blood vessels carry the blood and blood cells through the body.  You can think of blood vessels as a super highway.  The blood cells travel constantly but when the body signals “foreign invaders present,” the blood cells needed to fight the invaders zoom down the blood vessel highway and get to work protecting the person.  The lymphatic system is the second (lesser known) fluid carrying system of our body.  The lymphatic system contains channels that collect tissue fluids and return the fluids to the blood stream.  Lymph nodes (glands) are small bean shaped organs which store cells which can trap cancer cells and bacteria.  The Ohio State Medical Center shares information about the immune system at http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/infectious_diseases/immunesystem/pages/index.aspx