The immune system is designed to fight off foreign invaders (such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites) by building antibodies. In autoimmune disease, the body’s immune system goes awry. It has trouble recognizing self from non-self, which means that instead of creating antibodies against the infection, it creates antibodies against its own tissues. The body begins to attack itself. There are dozens of named and recognized autoimmune diseases, some that attack specific organs/tissues such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis that attack the thyroid, for example, and some that attack multiple organs/tissues, such as Systemic Lupus Erethematosus (SLE). Because the disease conditions and affected organs vary, so do the symptoms.
