Nick, You're not prying, just being curious.

I have MG and celiac disease. Other people in my family have or have had polymyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, allergies, pernicious anemia, hypothyroidism and MS. Don't forget about allergies and asthma. They are autoimmune conditions too!

I like this excerpt from this book about autoimmune diseases:

Autoimmunity - book

"That's not the way genetics works in autoimmune disease. In autoimmune disease, multiple genes are involved; we have genes that collectively increase the vulnerability or susceptibility to autoimmune disease. What is inherited is not a specific gene that causes a specific defect in metabolism; several genes increase vulnerability or susceptibility to autoimmune disease."

Noel R. Rose, M.D., Ph.D.
Chairman Emeritus, AARDA National Scientific Advisory Board; Professor of Pathology and of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology; Director, Center for Autoimmune Disease Research, Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD


Although, I have to wonder about the absolute nature of this. People with ankylosing spondylitis have a specific gene that predisposes them to having the illness. Maybe it's other genes being screwed up that push someone over into "disease land."

Annie