Category:Autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. Today there are more than 40 human diseases classified as either definite or probable autoimmune diseases and they affect 5-7% of the population. Almost all autoimmune diseases appear without warning or apparent cause and most patients suffer from fatigue.

The causes of autoimmune diseases are still obscure: some are thought to be either examples of, or precipitated by, diseases of affluence. For example, arthritis and obesity are acknowledged to be related, and the World Health Organisation states that arthritis is most common in developed countries. Most autoimmune diseases are probably the result of multiple circumstances: for example, a genetic predisposition triggered by an infection.