April 4 : Scientists have established a link between allergic diseases, such as atopic dermatitis or eczema, and autoimmune diseases.

Researchers at the University of Washington (UW) and Children’s Hospital say that allergic diseases may trigger autoimmune diseases by misdirecting the body’s immune system.

Nearly 75 per cent of autoimmune diseases occur in women, most frequently during the childbearing years, and they also comprise a significant portion of chronic childhood disorders.

Autoimmune disease refers to a group of more than 80 serious, chronic illnesses that include diseases of the nervous, gastrointestinal, and endocrine systems as well as skin and other connective tissues, eyes, blood, and blood vessel.

The underlying problem in all these diseases is similar because in each of them the body’s immune system, including B and/or T immune cells, becomes misdirected and attacks the very organs it was supposed to protect.

In the current study, the researchers have found that allergic diseases may actually influence the immune system to trigger autoimmune diseases.

“Our study implies that allergic and inflammatory diseases may actually trigger autoimmune diseases by relaxing the controls that normally eliminate newly produced, self-reactive B cells. This is important because many autoimmune diseases are caused by self-reactive antibodies produced by such B cells” Nature Immunology quoted Dr. David Rawlings, lead researcher and section head of Immunology at Children’s Hospital and the UW, as saying.

The researchers are now trying to discover specifically where the “relaxation” in the control of B cell autoimmunity takes place.

“In association with other UW laboratories, we also have begun to study drugs that can counter some of these effects. One such drug helps to prevent autoimmune kidney disease in a related animal model,” said Rawlings. (ANI)