The study conducted by scientists from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center found that in patients suffering from lupus, autoantibodies (proteins that the body mistakenly unleashes against its own tissue) are typically present years before patients are diagnosed with the disease. Ultimately, the study’s findings may help identify what causes lupus and lead to the development of a way to prevent the chronic autoimmune disease.

      “This groundbreaking research will have broad implications for the medical community when it comes to identifying and tracking patients who are at risk for developing lupus and many of the other autoimmune diseases,” said Dr. Noel Rose, chair of the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association Scientific Advisory Board and professor of Pathology, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins University. “And, more importantly for patients, this could mean that diagnosis is made earlier on, before major damage to the body occurs.”

      There are more than 80 and another 40 suspected autoimmune diseases. They all share the same underlying cause – autoimmunity, the process by which the body’s immune system turns on itself, attacking healthy organs, tissues and cells. Approximately 50 million Americans suffer from one or more autoimmune diseases. Of those, nearly 75 percent – or roughly 30 million – are women. Autoimmune diseases include lupus, multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, Sjögren’s disease and Graves’ disease.

      While many autoimmune diseases can be treated and controlled if detected in the early stages, patients often have symptoms for several years before a correct diagnosis is made. This delay in treatment can cause severe damage to major organs and result in permanent disability. In fact, the major cause of death in autoimmune diseases is lack of a prompt, correct diagnosis or misdiagnosis.

      American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association is the nation’s only organization dedicated to bringing a national focus to autoimmunity as a disease category and supporting a collaborative research in order to find better treatments and a cure for all autoimmune diseases.