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''Only recently
have we begun thinking of autoimmune diseases as a consortium, a related
group of conditions that have many features in common,'' said Noel R. Rose,
a professor at Johns Hopkins and head of the American Autoimmune Disease
Association. ''By focusing on these common elements, we've advanced our
understanding.'' NY Times, June 9, 2001
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The evidence supporting an Autoimmune Disease
“Common Cause”
Hypothesis is extensive.
The
“Common Cause” Hypothesis predicts that many devastating autoimmune
diseases have a single cause. The evidence in favor of the
Hypothesis is extensive and compelling, including:
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It has been known for years that patients with an
autoimmune disease are more likely to
have a relative with an autoimmune disease, but not
necessarily the same disease.
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- Approximately
15% of all autoimmune patients have two autoimmune diseases and the
- typical
family with one affected adult will have greater than 40% chance of
another
- adult member
having an autoimmune affliction.
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- Large genetic
studies repeatedly find that autoimmune diseases can be linked to the same region of a
chromosome as genes involved in training the immune system to identify "self"
tissue.
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It is common for one identical human twin to have an autoimmune disease
and
60 - 70% of the time for their sibling not to have this condition – in fact there are
many documented cases in which twins express two different autoimmune diseases!
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Doctors have become aware that those who suffer from one autoimmune
disease are
at increased risk of contracting another. Moreover,
researchers have seen that a
generalized predisposition toward
autoimmunity may run in families, with one person
suffering from, say,
lupus, another from rheumatoid arthritis, a third from Graves' disease.
nowing this kinship pattern may help a doctor more quickly diagnose an
autoimmune condition.
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An
Autoimmune Disease Research Foundation White Paper New
Recent Research
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See comprehensive list of autoimmune
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Autoimmune Disease
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