STRESS & AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES

Incidences of autoimmune diseases are rising; the numbers of cases are tripled over the last few decades. There are more than eighty illnesses caused by autoimmunity. It has been estimated that autoimmune diseases are among the ten leading causes of death among women in all age groups up to 65 years. The etiology of autoimmune diseases is multifactorial: Genetic, hormonal, environmental, immunological factors, together with host susceptibility are all considered important in their development. The cause of this worldwide epidemic lies primarily in our environment and the toxic world in which we live, as various stressors have been implicated in the induction and perpetuation of many autoimmune diseases. Various stressors including physical, chemical, biological, and psychological have been shown to be responsible for this growing epidemic. Understanding the pathogenic modes of actions of various stressors e.g. molecular mimicry, role of cytokines, Toll-like receptors signaling pathways, role of stress proteins (heat shock proteins), role of reactive species, in addition to neuroendocrine immune systems interactions foster the advent in targeted therapeutic era. New strategies have been introduced and are being studied to overcome effects of oxidative stress at the cellular level for subsequent use as new therapies for autoimmune diseases e.g. targeting intracellular signaling pathways for various proinflammatory cytokines, DNA vaccines, anti-inflammatory neuropeptides, and more. The better understanding of these etiopathogenetic mechanisms can move us from the era of controlling or treating autoimmune diseases to a new era of preventing these diseases.