Immune System Diseases

Vernon Said:

Are there any long term diseases that cause a weaker immune system?

We Answered:

HIV / AIDS and cancer are the two biggest ones for causing this...

Primary Immune Deficiency is another one. It's genetic, meaning you were born with it, and also means you have it your whole life. People who have this actually have part of their immune system "missing", so they get very sick very easily. In order to maintain some sort of normal life they need to have immunoglobulin injections regularly. Their symptoms can be similar to those who have HIV or AIDS.

Diabetes also causes increased susceptibility to infections, and people whose diabetes is more severe do have to be careful about what they're exposed to.

All autoimmune diseases (and there are a lot of them) essentially cause weakened immune systems due to the type of treatments that are necessary to treat the disease (immune suppressants). People being treated for autoimmune diseases need to be very careful about infections, because their immune systems are suppressed from the treatments, to the point that they can't fight them off easily.
There are too many autoimmune diseases to list here - hundreds. You may have a good result if you google "autoimmune disease". These range from systemic disorders, such as Lupus, to more specific disorders affecting certain systems, like Crohn's disease (affecting the bowel) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (affecting the joints). Autoimmune diseases are basically lifelong, although they can go into periods where there are no symptoms for awhile (remission).

Leonard Said:

Does anyone know reliable sites for studying diseases and immune system?

We Answered:

This looks promising:
http://www.microbiologybytes.com/iandi/i…

Pauline Said:

EASY 10 POINTS!! : What parts of the body (i.e., Immune System) help prevent bacteria and diseases?

We Answered:

immune, circulatory, excretory, skin

Cheryl Said:

Can the immune system “remember” old diseases from the past?

We Answered:

Like the last person said, yes your immune system will remember old diseases. It is called an adaptive immune response. You will retain a small percentage of cells that will survive only to recognize the disease again should you be attacked by an identical strain of something. It is very interesting. Actually the lymphocytes that will be the "memory cells" actually undergo a DNA change to create antigen receptors on the surface of the cell that will bond with surface antigens of a certain virus or bacterial cell and cause them to stick together rendering them useless. However lymphocytes only survive for about 4 months. Because the change in actual DNA is present though, each time the lymphocyte divides the ability to recognize the pathogen is passed down. Very interesting stuff!

Jo Said:

need a list of disorders/ Diseases that deal with the immune system.?

We Answered:

Here you go:
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/immun…

Not only does it have the diseases, it also has individual links!

Have fun and good luck on your report!

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