Normally, the immune system fights foreign substances such as bacteria, viruses or parasites to keep harmful influences away from the body. In autoimmune diseases, however, the immune system also attacks the body’s own structures, causing chronic inflammation and tissue damage. This can affect a specific organ, such as the pancreas or thyroid gland, or entire functional systems, such as nerves, skin or blood vessels. A distinction is therefore made between organ-specific and systemic autoimmune diseases:
- Organ-specific autoimmune diseases
z. B. Multiple sclerosis, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (morbus crohn, ulcerative colitis), diabetes mellitus type 1, morbus basedow
- Systemic autoimmune diseases
z. B. Rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, systemic vasculitides, psoriasis vulgaris
Autoimmune diseases are not rare: they are the third most common group of diseases after diseases of the cardiovascular system and tumor diseases. The causes of autoimmune diseases are still unknown. In addition to environmental factors, hereditary factors also seem to play a role.
Content
Lupus erythematosus and scleroderma
Lupus erythematosus and scleroderma, together with other diseases, belong to the group of connective tissue inflammations (collagenoses). Small blood vessels and the connective tissue in the skin undergo inflammatory changes. Some patients also experience inflammation of organs or organ systems (e.g. B. in eyes, joints, muscles, kidneys, lungs, heart, gastrointestinal tract). Adults often develop the disease in their young and middle years, and women more often than men.