Autoimmune diseases are chronic disorders that have been difficult, and often impossible, to cure.  There can be remission of symptoms—spontaneously or as the result of applied therapies—but the potential for return of the disease remains in almost all cases.  The characteristic of these diseases is immune system targeting of body components, so that these components are damaged, either temporarily or permanently, or their activities are altered.  The autoimmune diseases almost always have a significant genetic component; in addition many of the diseases in this category appear to have a viral or other infectious agent as a trigger for onset of the autoimmune status.  There may be a variety of other factors that are important to finally set off a pattern of symptomatic disease so that its first manifestation may be after age 20 (there are also late-onset autoimmune diseases).  In fact, if the disease appears much earlier than that (i.e., prior to the teen years), it is usually a very aggressive form with a strong genetic component. 

There are dozens of diseases that are classified as involving autoimmune responses or suspected of having an autoimmune basis.  In many of the diseases, there is a significant difference in incidence among men and women; overall, women are about 3 times as likely as men to suffer from autoimmune disorders (however, in some disorders, such as MS, men appear to have a more severe disease pattern).  If the initial symptoms are mild or if the disease progresses slowly or develops its symptoms in an unusual pattern, diagnosis is difficult.  Some patients relay experiences of pursuing medical diagnosis and treatment for a decade before getting a definitive disease name.  A greater number of tests that can suggest or confirm presence of an autoimmune disease have become available so that it is now easier to make a diagnosis than ever before, but some disorders suspected of being autoimmune diseases still lack reliable tests, especially for their early stages.

The incidence of autoimmune diseases in the U.S. has been estimated to be just over 3%, with a current affected population of about 10 million people.  Societies representing people suffering from autoimmune diseases consistently over-report the incidence rates, using the upper limits from the highest estimate ranges; thus, the incidence rates given in these circumstances—often relayed by the news media—must be interpreted cautiously.  Some of the common autoimmune disorders are outlined below.

The most prevalent autoimmune disorders are connective tissue diseases, accounting for nearly half of all the cases; rheumatoid arthritis is the dominant one.  

The main connective tissue diseases are:   CLICK HERE to CONTINUE

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