Articles related to AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS

Researchers discovered that inhibiting the activity of the fumarate hydratase enzyme in macrophages (a type of immune cell that plays a key role in inflammatory disorders) increased the cells’ production of interferon-beta. They also discovered that lupus patients’ macrophages have abnormally low levels of fumarate hydratase. These findings suggest that dysregulation of this enzyme may be a factor in the development of lupus, and that fumarate hydratase could be a potential therapeutic target.

Multiple studies’ pooled data revealed a significantly increased risk of Parkinson’s when combined with bullous pemphigoid, a rare skin condition, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or Sjögren’s syndrome. Immune response impairment has been linked to Parkinson’s disease in a growing body of evidence. Indeed, some studies have suggested that the neurodegenerative disease may be exacerbated by autoimmune processes, which occur when the immune system incorrectly attacks and destroys healthy tissue.

A 5-year-old boy from China who had IgA vasculitis at age 2 presented with progressively painful skin ulcerations on his extremities for the past month. Find the reason behind the skin lesions on this young boy by answering the image challenge.

A 57-year-old woman is evaluated for a 4-month history of progressive exertionaldyspnea and occasional chest pain and palpitations. She has limited cutaneoussystemic sclerosis with Raynaud phenomenon and gastroesophageal refluxdisease. Click to see the physical and lab results and see if you can choose the bestnext step.

Physicians commonly encounter patients with facial pigmented macules. In this patient, the diagnosis was Carney complex.

‘Bikini medicine’ (see the Boston Globe article) is an outdated, sexist idea that men and women should be cared for similarly — dubbed as such due to the mistaken belief that women’s health only differs in the parts of women that bikinis cover. A ridiculous notion, considering that cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and autoimmune diseases affect women differently than men. Last time we checked, the bikini doesn’t cover any of them.