Autoimmune Diseases 1956 – The Body Wages War on Its Own Cells

Autoimmune diseases are conditions in which the immune system fails to recognize the body correctly and attacks and destroys healthy body cells and tissues. 

In 1956, Hashimoto's thyroiditis became the first'glandular' disease proven to be autoimmune. At around the same time, British researchers Ivan Roitt, Deborah Doniach, and Peter Campbell discovered circulating autoantibodies in patients with thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid gland) that targeted thyroglobulin (a protein within the thyroid gland).

In parallel with this discovery, Noel Rose and Ernest Witebsky in the United States were able to induce thyroiditis by mixing part of a rabbit's thyroid with bacteria and injecting the material back into the rabbit's foot. Observing the rabbits' inflamed thyroids and antibodies against thyroglobulin, Rose thought it might be difficult to convince other researchers of this surprising finding. Although Julius Donath and Karl Landsteiner had shown in 1904 that paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria (a disease in which red blood cells are destroyed) had an autoimmune component, autoimmune diseases were thought not to exist for many years.

• Autoimmune diseases show a genetic predisposition, and approximately 75% of cases occur in women. Among the hundreds of autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases are: 
• Rheumatoid arthritis (joint inflammation and erosion)
• Systemic lupus erythematosus (causes inflammation and can damage many organ systems) 
• Multiple sclerosis (damages the sheath around nerve fibers)

Treatments for these diseases include corticosteroids (to control inflammation) and other immunosuppressants. In some cases, human autoimmune diseases may be triggered by an infection.

Description of the Article Image: An X-ray of the hand of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. This disease often causes destruction of joint cartilage and deformity of the joints.

Historical Figures Mentioned in This Article: Hashimoto Hakaru (1881–1934), Ernest Witebsky (1901–1969), Deborah Doniach (1912–2004), Peter Campbell (1921–2005), Ivan Maurice Roitt (b. 1927), Noel Richard Rose (b. 1927)

• Previous topic: The Polio Vaccine 1955 – Poliovirus
• Next topic: Bone Marrow – Stem Cell Transplantation 1956