Download Diseases of the Immune System

Diseases of the Immune
System
Immune System Diseases
• Allergies
• Immunodeficiencies
• Autoimmune Disorders
Immune System Diseases - Allergies
• Abnormally vigorous immune responses
• Different types…
• Acute hypersensitivity
• Pathogen & resulting antibodies cause release of
histamine…
• Which causes small blood vessels to become
dilated and leaky
• Symptoms include runny nose, watery eyes,
itching, reddened skin (hives), bronchial
constriction (asthma)
• Antihistamine drugs can reverse effects
Immune System Diseases - Allergies
• Anaphylactic Shock
• Allergen directly enters the blood and circulates rapidly throughout the body
• Examples: Bee stings, spider bites, drug injections
• Dilated & leaky blood vessels throughout body can be life-threatening
• The drug Epinephrine can reverse effects (Epipen for people with history of severe
allergic reaction)
Immune System Diseases
• Immunodeficiencies
• Production or function of immune cells is abnormal
• May be congenital or acquired
• Examples include…
Immune System Diseases - Immunodeficiencies
• Severe Combined
Immunodeficiency Syndrome
(SCIDS)
• Deficit of both B and T cells
• Have no immune response
• “Bubble Boy” Disease
• Some success with bone marrow
transplants
For twelve years David Vetter, born with combined immune
deficiency, lived inside this plastic bubble at Texas Children's
Hospital in Houston, Texas, waiting for a cure to the disease
that kept him prisoner.
Immune System Diseases - Immunodeficiencies
• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
• The virus (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV) destroys Helper T Cells &
Macrophages
• Cell-mediated immunity is reduced
• Virus then begins to multiply in lymph nodes – which takes longer in some
than in others
Immune System Diseases - Immunodeficiencies
• A patient is diagnosed with AIDS when the lymph nodes
are destroyed & symptoms begin
• Symptoms include severe weight loss, night sweats,
swollen lymph nodes, and increasingly frequent infections
(gastrointestinal, pneumonia)
• Some of the drugs that are used to help act by inhibiting
the enzymes the HIV virus needs in order to multiply, or
helps to boost number of Helper T Cells
• THERE IS NO CURE OR VACCINE.
Immune System Diseases - Immunodeficiencies
• Facts:
• 33.2 million worldwide have AIDS; 2.5 million are children under age 15
• 1.9 million died of AIDS in 2010; 330,000 were children under age 15
• Sub-Sahara Africa contains 68% of the AIDS population
• The median survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be 9 to 11
years, depending on the HIV subtype
Immune System Diseases
• Autoimmune Diseases
• The immune system does not distinguish between self and non-self
• The body produces antibodies and T Cells that attack its own tissues
• Examples Include…
Immune System Diseases - Autoimmune Diseases
• Multiple sclerosis: myelin sheaths in the white matter of
brain & spinal cord are destroyed
• Causing muscle and neural deterioration, psychological issues,
vision problems, chronic pain
• Type 1 diabetes: destroys pancreatic beta cells that
produce insulin (insulin is needed to get glucose into cells)
• Causing abnormal fluctuations in blood glucose levels (both too
high and too low)
• Can lead to seizures, comas, ketoacidosis, organ injury/death
(eyes, kidneys,etc).
• Rheumatoid arthritis: systemic inflammatory disorder
• destroys joints (inflammation of covering around synovial joints) and can damage
cartilage as well
• Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus): systemic inflammatory disorder
• can affect kidney, heart, lung, blood vessels, nervous system, skin