WordNet
n. any of a large group of diseases characterized by abnormal functioning of the immune system that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against your own tissues [syn: autoimmune disorder]
Wikipedia
An autoimmune disease is a pathological state arising from an abnormal immune response of the body to substances and tissues that are normally present in the body.
Autoimmunity, on the other hand, is the presence of self-reactive immune response (e.g., auto-antibodies, self-reactive T-cells), with or without damage or pathology resulting from it. This may be restricted to certain organs (e.g. in autoimmune thyroiditis) or involve a particular tissue in different places (e.g. Goodpasture's disease which may affect the basement membrane in both the lung and the kidney).
The treatment of autoimmune diseases is typically with immunosuppression—medication that decreases the immune response. New novel treatments include Cytokine blockade (or the blockade of cytokine signaling pathways), removal of effector T-cells and B-cells (e.g. anti-CD20 therapy can be effective at removing instigating B-cells). Intravenous Immunoglobulin has been helpful in treating some antibody mediated autoimmune diseases as well, possibly through negative feedback mechanisms.
A large number of autoimmune diseases are recognized. A major understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases has been the application of genome wide association scans that have identified a striking degree of genetic sharing among the autoimmune diseases.
Usage examples of "autoimmune disease".
After all, what kind of an autoimmune disease could work so quickly?
Like an autoimmune disease, the defensive measures of the body infometric had been turned against itself.