March 6, 2013
By Amick B. Like other autoimmune diseases, celiac disease has a strong genetic component, but new research shows that environmental factors, including an exposure to a variety of microbes in our water and in dust, may also play an important role. A recent New York Times article reported that the amount [...]
May 24, 2012
Crohn’s disease develops when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own gut cells. Although most people with European ancestry are pretty genetically similar, some sub-groups like Ashkenazi Jews have distinct genetic characteristics that carry important implications for health. For instance, [...]
May 17, 2012
Many autoimmune diseases affect women more frequently than men. The ratio of affected women to affected men are given above for several autoimmune diseases on which 23andMe reports. (Source: American Autoimmune Related Disease Association, Inc.) There are many wonderful things about being a woman, but our [...]
April 13, 2012
What do media mogul Oprah Winfrey, actress Mary-Louise Parker, and Olympic runner Carl Lewis have in common? Aside from their more than 15 minutes of fame, all three have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, a condition where the body does not make enough thyroid hormone. This, in turn, can lead to fatigue, [...]
December 28, 2011
We thought 2010 would be hard to top but we’re happy to say that 2011 has been even better. Scientists uncovered new insights into serious conditions like type 2 diabetes and autoimmune disorders as well as traits like iris patterns. New research has also improved our understanding of the genetics of [...]
November 30, 2011
Pinworms—small worms that infect the intestines—are the most common worm infection in the United States. Although all people are over 99.9% genetically identical, the small amount of diversity that does exist between individuals tends to track with ethnicity. This is probably pretty obvious—an [...]
September 8, 2011
By Bethann Hromatka Autoimmune diseases are caused by an overactive immune system. In these diseases, white blood cells, which normally help your body fight infections, ramp up and attack your own cells and organs. These disorders can be very debilitating and are relatively common, affecting roughly 1 in [...]
September 6, 2011
Scientists know that there isn’t one cause for multiple sclerosis (MS), but understanding this complex autoimmune disease has vexed medical researchers for years. In the largest MS study to date, researchers recently identified 29 new genetic variants associated with the disease in people of European [...]
June 30, 2010
Alopecia areata is a form of hair loss many people are unfamiliar with, although the condition affects more than five million people in the United States. Unlike male (or, more rarely, female) pattern baldness, which is thought to be caused by hormones, alopecia areata results from an autoimmune attack on [...]
December 15, 2009
Multiple sclerosis (MS) afflicts the central nervous system, causing unpredictable and varying symptoms that differ from person to person. About one in 700 people in the United States is affected by the disease. Although there is currently no cure for MS, there are treatments that can slow the progression of [...]
