1. Diseases of the Immune System

2. Immune System Diseases
Allergies
Immunodeficiencies
Autoimmune Disorders

3. 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

4. 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)

5. Immune System Diseases
Immunodeficiencies
Production or function of immune cells is abnormal
May be congenital or acquired
Examples include…

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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…

12. 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).

13. 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