What disease attacks its own tissue?

Autoimmune diseases attack the body's own tissues, occurring when the immune system mistakenly identifies healthy tissues as foreign threats and launches attacks against them. These conditions affect approximately 5-8% of the population and can target virtually any body tissue.

Common autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis (attacking joint tissues), type 1 diabetes (destroying insulin-producing pancreatic cells), multiple sclerosis (damaging nervous tissue's protective myelin coating), lupus (affecting multiple tissues including skin, joints, kidneys, and heart), celiac disease (triggered by gluten, damaging intestinal tissue), psoriasis (causing skin tissue inflammation and accelerated cell turnover), Graves' disease (attacking thyroid tissue), and inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (damaging digestive tract tissues). The causes of autoimmune diseases remain incompletely understood but involve genetic predisposition, environmental triggers (infections, toxins, stress), and loss of immune tolerance mechanisms that normally prevent self-attack. Women develop autoimmune diseases more frequently than men, possibly due to hormonal influences. Symptoms vary widely depending on which tissues are affected but often include inflammation, pain, fatigue, and progressive tissue damage leading to organ dysfunction. Diagnosis typically requires blood tests detecting autoantibodies (immune proteins targeting self-tissues), imaging studies, and sometimes tissue biopsies. While autoimmune diseases generally cannot be cured, treatments including immunosuppressive medications, anti-inflammatory drugs, and newer biologic therapies can control disease activity, reduce tissue damage, and improve quality of life. Early diagnosis and treatment significantly improve long-term outcomes.