Autoimmune disease treatment includes immunosuppressant drugs to inhibit the activity of the immune system, pain-killing medication such as paracetamol and codeine, corticosteroids to reduce inflammation, physical therapy to encourage mobility, and anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce inflammation and pain. An autoimmune disease is a condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body. Thus, with the increasing prevalence of autoimmune diseases, the demand for autoimmune disease treatment is also increasing.
For example, autoimmune diseases represent the third most common cause of chronic illness in the United States. According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), autoimmune diseases affect around 20% of the U.S. population, of which 75% are women. Autoimmune diseases are a family of more than 80 chronic, often debilitating, and, in some cases, life-threatening illnesses. Autoimmune disorders range in severity from mild to disabling, depending on which body system is being attacked and to what extent.
Autoimmune disease has a serious impact on health, causing various complications in different parts of the body, such as the brain, heart, kidneys, nerves, and glands. It is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a functioning body part. The prevalence of autoimmune disease has increased mainly due to genetic and environmental factors, which include dietary components, toxic chemicals, and infections. Autoimmune diseases affect a wide range of body parts, and thus, there is an increasing demand for autoimmune disease treatment worldwide.
Autoimmune diseases include type 1 diabetes (IDDM), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), autoimmune thyroiditis (AT), hepatitis, celiac disease (CD), multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatic arthritis (RA), and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Thus, autoimmune diseases treatment is important for the patients affected by these diseases. Treatments can’t cure these conditions, but they can control the overactive immune response and bring down inflammation or at least reduce pain and inflammation.
Drugs used to treat autoimmune diseases include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as naproxen (Naprosyn), ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), and immune-suppressing drugs.