Contents:
- Medical Video: Haywire: Autoimmune Disorders in Women
- List of autoimmune diseases most often experienced by women
- 1. Lupus
- 2. Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- 3. Hashimoto thyroiditis
- Why do autoimmune diseases occur more in women?
- 1. Sexual hormones
- 2. Differences in immune system resistance between genders
Medical Video: Haywire: Autoimmune Disorders in Women
Autoimmune disease is a disease caused by the immune system that attacks the healthy organs in your body. This causes the growth of organs to become abnormal resulting in changes in organ function in the long term. Rheumatism and type 1 diabetes are two examples of the most common autoimmune diseases and can affect anyone. But there are some of these diseases that specifically affect women more than men. Next is the list.
List of autoimmune diseases most often experienced by women
1. Lupus
Lupus, or complete systemic lupus erythematosus, is a chronic or chronic autoimmune disease. Lupus occurs when antibodies produced by the body attach to tissues throughout the body. Some tissues that are commonly attacked by lupus are joints, lungs, kidneys, blood cells, nerves, and skin.
Symptoms include fever, weight loss, pain and swelling in the joints and muscles, facial rashes, and hair loss. The cause of lupus is unknown. However, there seems to be something that triggers the immune system and attacks various areas of the body. That's why suppressing the immune system is one of the main forms of treatment for lupus. Factors that can cause the development of lupus include viruses, environmental chemical pollution, and a person's genetic makeup.
2. Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Multiple sclerosis or dual sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that attacks the protective layer around the nerve. This can cause damage that affects the brain and spinal cord.
Symptoms of this disease are blindness, muscle tension, weakness, numbness in the feet and hands, tingling, paralysis and difficulty in balancing the body and difficulty speaking. Symptoms can vary because the location and level of attacks vary between individuals. The treatment usually focuses on accelerating recovery from attacks, slowing the progress of the disease, and overcoming the symptoms. Various drugs that suppress the immune system can be used to treat sclerosis.
The cause of sclerosis is unknown. This disease is considered an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks its own tissues. This immune system damage destroys myelin, a fatty substance that lines and protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. If the myelin protector is damaged and nerve fibers are exposed, stimuli that travel along the nerve can be slowed or blocked. Nerves can also be damaged by themselves. Genetic and environmental factors are also considered as one of the causes.
3. Hashimoto thyroiditis
Hashimoto thyroiditis occurs when the immune system attacks the thyroid. Some people experience swelling in the front of the throat like goiter. Other symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, depression, hormonal imbalance, muscle or joint pain, cold hands and feet, dry skin and nails, excessive hair loss, constipation, and hoarseness. This disease is usually overcome by taking a replacement hormone as a synthetic thyroid.
Hashimoto's disease usually develops slowly for years and causes chronic thyroid damage, which causes a decrease in thyroid hormone levels in your blood (hypothyroidism). The cause of this disease is also unknown. But some researchers argue that viruses or bacteria that trigger this disease. There are also those who argue that genetic disorders also affect, including heredity, gender and age, can determine the likelihood of you getting this disease.
Why do autoimmune diseases occur more in women?
The majority of people who have autoimmune diseases are women of childbearing age. In fact, autoimmune diseases are one of the main causes of death and disability in girls and women 65 and younger. Although it is not entirely clear what caused it, some theories suggest that the following factors play a considerable role in determining a woman's risk of an autoimmune disease:
1. Sexual hormones
Hormonal differences between women and men explain why women are more at risk of developing autoimmune diseases. Many autoimmune diseases tend to improve and worsen with fluctuations in female hormones (for example, during pregnancy, along with the menstrual cycle, or when using oral contraceptives), which indicates that sexual hormones may play a role in many autoimmune diseases.
Cell function in the body is influenced by hormones, one of which is the hormone estrogen which is widely found in women. Estrogen levels tend to be high in productive age. This condition makes women vulnerable to this disease.
2. Differences in immune system resistance between genders
Some researchers believe that women are at high risk of autoimmune diseases because women's immune systems tend to be more sophisticated than men. Women naturally have a stronger response than men when their immune systems are triggered, and inflammation plays an important role in many autoimmune diseases. Although this often results in superior immunity among women, it can also increase a woman's risk of developing autoimmune disorders if something goes wrong.
3. The genetic code of women who are more vulnerable
Some researchers have reported that women have two X chromosomes while men have X and Y chromosomes and genetically this tends to trigger the development of autoimmune diseases. There is some evidence that defects in the X chromosome may be related to susceptibility to certain autoimmune diseases. The genetics of autoimmune diseases is arguably quite complex, and research is ongoing.
