Auto-Immune Disease

What Are Auto-Immune Diseases?

Our bodies have an immune system, which is an incredibly complex network of cells and organs that defend the body from germs and other foreign invaders.  The immune system's core function is to protect the body by attacking that which is foreign.  Auto-Immune Disease is when the immune system loses the ability to differentiate between foreign and native and begins to attack its own cells.  When this happens, the body makes autoantibodies that mistakingly attack native, healthy cells.  At the same time, regulatory T cells, whose job it is to keep the immune system working properly, fail.  This combination within the body results in autoimmune disease, and some can be rare while others are quite common.