What are the different types of autoimmune disease? How common is Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism? What is involved in the development of AI disease?
In the first issue, we discussed the prevalence of autoimmune (AI) disease in the U.S. and how they are diagnosed. We discussed their progressive nature and the fact that patients who develop one AI disease are at high risk of developing others. We also discussed conventional treatment of AI disease being primarily the use of immune-suppressing medication.
In this issue, we will take a deeper look at the nature of autoimmune conditions and their common characteristics. We will look at Hashimotos autoimmune thyroid as an example of one of these AI conditions and its prevalence.
In any immune response, antibodies are generated by the immune system to help identify and target foreign invaders or harmful substances. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system generates antibodies against the bodys own tissue (autoantibodies). The bodys own tissue becomes a target of the immune system. There are two general types of autoimmune conditions depending on whether or not they are organ-specific.
Lets take a look at one example of autoimmune (AI) disease, autoimmune thyroid, which is the most prevalent AI disease in the U.S. today and how it manifests in the affected individual.
The most common AI disease in the U.S. is Hashimotos autoimmune thyroid. The thyroid gland is very vulnerable to autoimmune attack and often times thyroid antibodies are the first sign of the development of an autoimmune disease. 8% of the U.S. population has thyroid antibodies. It is estimated that 1 out of 10 females in the U.S. has thyroid antibodies.
The most common mechanism for thyroid disorders in the U.S. today is autoimmunity, not iodine deficiency. Most hypothyroid patients actually have antibodies against their thyroid, although this is often overlooked and remains undiagnosed in most cases of hypothyroidism. Current research indicates that approximately 90% of people that become hypothyroid have an autoimmune attack against the thyroid gland.3 These hypothyroid patients are put on thyroid hormone to replace the lack of this hormone in the body but nothing is done for the autoimmune condition itself. What you are really seeing in these thyroid patients is the first expression of an autoimmune disease.
Why is early detection of autoantibodies important? Because early detection allows for earlier intervention, possible prevention of the onset of autoimmune disease, potential for slowing down the autoimmune destruction of tissue and better prognosis.
This is important because as we will see, there are many things we can do to modulate the autoimmune response through diet, lifestyle and nutritional medicine that can decrease your risk of developing other AI diseases. Remember that any tissue is up for grabs for autoimmune destruction in AI disease.
Why would we become allergic to ourselves? Are we really allergic to ourselves? Why would our immune systems attack self-tissue?
One of the things we have to have in order to prevent autoimmune disease is immune tolerance. Immune tolerance is the concept that the immune system tolerates (and does not react to) certain antigens in the body, including self-protein markers, and some types of foreign antigens as well, such as heavy metals or toxins. However, when the immune system loses this ability to tolerate a marker, then it initiates an immune response against this antigen or marker. The production of antibodies occurs as part of the immune response.
In a healthy immune system, there is a balance between two important aspects of the immune system: TH1 and TH2 responses. When you look at the immune system, there are two types of cells: T cells and B cells. The T cell response is called TH1 response (cell-mediated immunity). The B cell response is called TH2 response (humoral-mediated immunity). When your immune system has to destroy an antigen, it attacks it first (TH1 response), then it makes antibodies so that it can be more efficient in finding it (TH2 response). In a healthy immune response, the TH1 and TH2 systems are somewhat in balance.
TH3 is the regulatory system that balances the TH1 and TH2 systems. The TH3 system is made up of regulatory T cells that regulate the immune response between the TH1 and TH2 systems. One of the things we want is to have a TH3 system that is as strong as possible for this reason. We will learn later some important compounds that have a powerful effect on the TH3 system, such as vitamin D and glutathione.
There is one more important system involved in the immune response: the TH17 system. The TH17 system comes from T helper cells and induces IL-17 production. The more active the TH17 system, the more IL-17 produced and the more tissue destruction you get in the TH1 or TH2 shift. If you have a TH1 system that is dominant and an active TH17 system, then it is more destructive than before. One of our goals is to dampen the TH17 system in order to minimize tissue destruction.
 What systems are involved in flaring them up?
 What systems are involved in causing destruction of tissue?
 What systems are involved in their recovery?
If we can answer these questions, then we can start to ask what interventions we can employ to make the biggest change in these patients.
What are the mechanisms and mediators involved in autoimmunity?
Gluten sensitivity and autoimmunity connection.