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From: slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Autoimmune diseases
Message-ID: <361@drutx.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 24-Oct-85 11:39:44 EST
Article-I.D.: drutx.361
Posted: Thu Oct 24 11:39:44 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 4-Nov-85 01:37:06 EST
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
Lines: 54


I've been wondering about auto-immune diseases lately.  My musings
are based on these pieces of information:

      1.  MS has been said to be an autoimmune disease.  It
          strikes women much more often than men.  It also
          seems to be associated with northern European ancestry,
          and victims often live around or above the 40th parallel.
          It runs in families, but is not directly hereditary.
          It tends to start in people in their late 20's or 30's.

      2.  Grave's disease (the most common form of hyperthyroidism)
          is said to be autoimmune.  It occurs more often in women
          than in men.  It runs in families, but is not directly
          hereditary.  It tends to start in people in their late
          20's or 30's.

      3.  My mother has MS.  Her father had it.  We believe his
          father had it (although it is too long ago to be sure.)

      4.  I have hyperthyroidism, which may be Grave's disease.

The questions are these:

      1.  How many diseases have been identified as autoimmune?
          What are they?

      2.  Do women show more autoimmune diseases in general, or
          is this true only for my two examples above?

      3.  Likewise, do some of the other risk factors for the
          two above diseases apply to autoimmune diseases in
          general?

      4.  Do people with one autoimmune disease have more, less,
          or the same chance of having another?

      5.  Does history of one autoimmune disease in a family
          put a member of the family at risk for another autoimmune
          disease?

Does anyone know if these sorts of things have been studied?  I have
found no reference to them--but our local library isn't real packed with
medical references.  (As a woman, of northern European ancestry, living
within a few miles of the 40th parallel, I'm curious for obvious reasons.)  
-- 

                                     Sue Brezden
                                     ihnp4!drutx!slb

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I march to the beat of a different drummer, whose identity,
   location, and musical ability are as yet unknown.
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