Quote:
Originally Posted by mrsD
The basic premise of why women have more autoimmune issues is because of pregnancy.
Cells from the fetus do escape into the mother's body, and if she has the genetic propensity to react strongly to this, then she may develop an autoimmune disease.
The genetic markers have to be there however to trigger and fuel the autoimmune cascade.
Did you know that scientists have found cells from the fetus in mothers brains long after the pregnancy?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...mothers-brain/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633676/
I think there is a very strong biological component to autoimmune disease in women. We are finding more and more surprises about this topic.
I brought this up because many doctors today, still do not think men get autoimmune disease, and may dismiss a male who is seeking testing and treatment.
So this posting today of mine is to forewarn the males here who might run into a biased physician. |
Fetal cells actually protect the mother and offspring during and after pregnancy specifically the heart, it helps in repairing damaged heart(infarctions) in mice, maybe this is why women are less likely to have certain heart diseases than men. I think autoimmune in women maybe due to thier hormones, specifically.
On an episode of mystery diagnosis, a lady was had a rare autoimmune disease to her own progesterone, which is caused when she gets her period.
@beatle they want those expensive test repeated, because the doctors can make profit off of it, unless your with an HMO.