Autoimmune diseases research areas

Prevalence, Sex Distribution, Autoantibody Targets and Major Areas of Environmental Research Concerning Selected Autoimmune Diseases. 

Finally there is growing concern that the developing immune system may be particularly vulnerable to xenobiotic exposures and that perinatal and/or in utero exposures may have a lifelong impact on susceptibility to infectious, allergic, or autoimmune disease. As in other areas of toxicology, tests designed to assess the risk of immuno-toxicity for adults may not be sufficient to protect children and research is currently underway to determine how best to meet this need. 

There is also some research on the influence of dietary factors on autoimmune diseases. This is a broad area that includes caloric intake, specific nutrients and foods, and dietary supplements. Coeliac disease is an example of an autoimmune disease with a clear dietary link in which an immunological response to specific proteins in wheat, barley, and rye produces autoantibodies directed against tissue transglutaminase, causing mucosal damage in the small intestine. 

Rituximab represents the most important scientific achievement of the past decade. It was the first therapeutic antibody approved for the treatment of cancer and specifically for N H L. The current IWRC for N H L had their origin with the rituximab response criteria. Clinical development was completed in record time. Dossiers were filed simultaneously in the United States and in Europe. The US fihng utilized an electronic format (computer-aided product license application, CAPLA). These and many other achievements during clinical development served to provide tremendous impetus to the monoclonal antibody research area. The renewed enthusiasm in this area has yielded many new Mabs with activity in both hematologic malignancies and in autoimmune diseases. Several of these have been approved (e.g. herceptin, alemtuzumab, mylotarg, others) and many others are under active investigation. 

Clinical sciences translate achievements of basic research to medically relevant applications, that is, diagnosis, prediction, prevention, and therapy. It covers a broad area of complex disorders of the human system including proliferative disorders (cancer and degenerative diseases), cardiovascular syndromes, various inherited and acquired deficiencies, autoimmunity, allergy, physiological and pathological responses to pathogens and transplantation, and various therapeutical approaches [1,2]. 

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