Autoimmunity and the Endocrine System
Chad Martin
Nursing 631
Grand Canyon University
December 12, 2015
Introduction The immune system in the human body is protection. Protection not only from infectious disease processes and foreign bodies but from ourselves. The immune system is great to have when working well, however, there can be unintended and serious consequences when the system fails and initiates inappropriate responses to our bodies own cells. Autoimmunity specifically is the failure of the immune system to recognize its own cells and attacks them as foreign. One body system in particular has many documented autoimmunities; the endocrine system. In this paper we will look at autoimmunity, the role of autoimmunity …show more content…
Respectively, autoimmunity is a the breakdown of the immune system and the failure to recognize its own antigens and attacks them as foriegn. The cause of the initiation of autoimmunity is unknown, however, there are numerous genetic and environmental factors that can be examined. Genetically, a person who has a family member with an autoimmune disorder may have a chance of developing said disease. This is not always the case but there is a link for genetics and autoimmunity. There are four theories that primarily focus on the original (enviromental) insult for autoimmunity; sequestered antigen, infectious disease, forbidden clone, and defective peripheral …show more content…
As with the other endocrine autoimmune disorders Addison's can be genetic in nature and environmentally precipitated. In Addison’s disease the major autoantibody identified is 21-hydroxylase the finding of this hallmark autoantibody is indicative of adrenal failure. Addison’s disease despite the finding of the autoantibody continues to have a murky pathophysiology. As numerous theories about how the adrenal cortex is attacked also shows up in people without Addisons making the pathogenesis hard to research. Current research suggests there is some dysfunction in the CD4+ and CD25+ regulatory T cells and their suppressive capabilities seem to be malfunctioning. This could suggest that a break of peripheral tolerance could activate T cells that have the ability to target adrenocortical
Chad Martin
Nursing 631
Grand Canyon University
December 12, 2015
Introduction The immune system in the human body is protection. Protection not only from infectious disease processes and foreign bodies but from ourselves. The immune system is great to have when working well, however, there can be unintended and serious consequences when the system fails and initiates inappropriate responses to our bodies own cells. Autoimmunity specifically is the failure of the immune system to recognize its own cells and attacks them as foreign. One body system in particular has many documented autoimmunities; the endocrine system. In this paper we will look at autoimmunity, the role of autoimmunity …show more content…
Respectively, autoimmunity is a the breakdown of the immune system and the failure to recognize its own antigens and attacks them as foriegn. The cause of the initiation of autoimmunity is unknown, however, there are numerous genetic and environmental factors that can be examined. Genetically, a person who has a family member with an autoimmune disorder may have a chance of developing said disease. This is not always the case but there is a link for genetics and autoimmunity. There are four theories that primarily focus on the original (enviromental) insult for autoimmunity; sequestered antigen, infectious disease, forbidden clone, and defective peripheral …show more content…
As with the other endocrine autoimmune disorders Addison's can be genetic in nature and environmentally precipitated. In Addison’s disease the major autoantibody identified is 21-hydroxylase the finding of this hallmark autoantibody is indicative of adrenal failure. Addison’s disease despite the finding of the autoantibody continues to have a murky pathophysiology. As numerous theories about how the adrenal cortex is attacked also shows up in people without Addisons making the pathogenesis hard to research. Current research suggests there is some dysfunction in the CD4+ and CD25+ regulatory T cells and their suppressive capabilities seem to be malfunctioning. This could suggest that a break of peripheral tolerance could activate T cells that have the ability to target adrenocortical