Autoimmunity provoked by infection?

overman74@hotmail.com · medicine forum Guru Joined: 11 Sep 2005 Posts: 442

Nat Immunol. 2001 Sep;2(9):797-801.

Autoimmunity provoked by infection: how good is the case for T cell
epitope mimicry?

Benoist C, Mathis D.

Section on Immunology and Immunogenetics, Joslin Diabetes Center,
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical
School, One Joslin Place, Boston, MA, USA.

Autoimmune diseases remain one of the mysteries that perplex
immunologists. What makes the immune system, which has evolved to
protect an organism from foreign invaders, turn on the organism itself?
A popular answer to this question involves the lymphoid network's
primordial function: autoimmunity is a by-product of the immune
response to microbial infection. For decades there have been
tantalizing associations between infectious agents and autoimmunity:
beta-hemolytic streptococci and rheumatic fever; B3 Coxsackieviruses
and myocarditis; Trypanosoma cruzi and Chagas' disease; diverse viruses
and multiple sclerosis; Borrelia burgdorfii and Lyme arthritis; and B4
Coxsackievirus, cytomegalovirus or rubella and type 1 diabetes, to name
the most frequently cited examples. In addition, animal models have
provided direct evidence that infection with a particular microbe can
incite a particular autoimmune disease. Nonetheless, many of the
associations appear less than convincing and, even for those that seem
to be on solid footing, there is no real understanding of the
underlying mechanism(s).

Publication Types:

* Review

PMID: 11526389 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

brent · medicine forum Guru Joined: 29 Apr 2005 Posts: 1543

On 2 Oct 2005 08:23:38 -0700, overman74@hotmail.com stated:

overman74@hotmail.com · medicine forum Guru Joined: 11 Sep 2005 Posts: 442

I have been wondering if there is any "true" autoimmunity, or a mimic
that is stimulated by infection, active infection.

Some time ago, there was a published article that showed an autoimmune
marker becoming normal after treatment of an infection. Posted it
here, I think. Good stuff, but not sure I am up to searching for it
again. And besides, is anyone reading this, besides trolls and
pyschopaths (barring a few others)?

overman74@hotmail.com · medicine forum Guru Joined: 11 Sep 2005 Posts: 442

Due to great demand, here is the abstract of an article in which a
condition that was considered autoimmune was cured by treating H.
pylori, an infectious cause, in other words.

Arch Intern Med. 2004 Sep 27;164(17):1904-7.

Effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication on platelet recovery in
patients with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Sato R, Murakami K, Watanabe K, Okimoto T, Miyajima H, Ogata M,
Ohtsuka E, Kodama M, Saburi Y, Fujioka T, Nasu M.

Second Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Oita
University, Oita, Japan.

BACKGROUND: A relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection
and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) has previously been
reported. We determined the prevalence of H pylori infection in
Japanese patients with chronic ITP and the effect of its eradication on
platelet count. METHODS: The study population comprised 53 Japanese
adults with chronic ITP and a platelet count of less than 100 x 10(3)/
micro L. A (13)C-urea breath test was performed to determine H pylori
infection status. Those patients who were H pylori positive gave
written informed consent and received eradication therapy. The effect
of H pylori eradication on platelet count was evaluated up to 6 months
after therapy. Clinical parameters were compared between responders to
the therapy (increase in platelet count) and nonresponders, as well as
between H pylori-positive and -negative patients. RESULTS: Of the 53
patients with chronic ITP in the study, 39 (74%) were H pylori
positive. Of the 32 infected patients who received treatment, H pylori
was successfully eradicated in 27 patients (84%). In 10 (37%) of these
patients, this resulted in a favorable platelet response. A partial
response was seen in 5 additional patients (19%). A significant
(P<.001) increase in platelet count was demonstrated in patients in
whom H pylori was successfully eradicated but not in patients who were
unsuccessfully treated or in untreated patients. Current corticosteroid
therapy was reported more often in nonresponders than in responders.
CONCLUSION: Eradication of H pylori may prove effective in increasing
platelet count in H pylori-positive patients with chronic ITP.

Publication Types:

* Clinical Trial

PMID: 15451766 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

brent · medicine forum Guru Joined: 29 Apr 2005 Posts: 1543

overman74@hotmail.com wrote:

overman74@hotmail.com · medicine forum Guru Joined: 11 Sep 2005 Posts: 442

Makes my head spin.

Some of their numbers don't add up: up to 80% false positive with PSA
test, but accurate 79.6% of the time?

Any test that has 80% false positives is a worthless test. Why does
anyone do this?

brent · medicine forum Guru Joined: 29 Apr 2005 Posts: 1543

On 5 Oct 2005 12:09:48 -0700, overman74@hotmail.com stated:

brent · medicine forum Guru Joined: 29 Apr 2005 Posts: 1543

On 5 Oct 2005 16:24:15 -0700, overman74@hotmail.com stated:

Martijn · medicine forum Guru Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 1004

dali wrote:

brent · medicine forum Guru Joined: 29 Apr 2005 Posts: 1543

Martijn wrote:

Google