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BOB DOUGHTY: Lupus is not the only autoimmune disease. Doctors and scientists have identified at least eighty other diseases in which the body attacks its own organs and cells. Some of the diseases attack just one area of the body, like the skin, eyes or muscles. Others affect an organ system or even the whole body.
Some of the diseases are well known, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and type-one diabetes. Others are not as well known.
BARBARA KLEIN: For example, celiac disease is difficult to identify because the signs of the disease are so common. Patients may have low iron levels and experience stomach pain. The uncontrolled release of bodily wastes is also a problem.
Doctors might treat those problems and not know they are caused by celiac disease. Some people develop celiac disease after eating gluten, a protein found in wheat products. It is not always clear that eating something as harmless as wheat can be bad for a person’s health. For some patients, it can be years before the problem is correctly identified.
BOB DOUGHTY: The United States National Institutes of Health says autoimmune diseases affect an estimated five to eight percent of the country’s population. Other groups disagree. For example, the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association says autoimmune diseases affect about fifty million Americans. That represents about one-sixth of the population.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25