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THE 3 STAGES OF AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE
Pathogenesis of Autoimmune diseases may be divided into three stages.
This enables a clear distinction to be made between an Autoimmune response and an Autoimmune disease.
Timelines between stages will vary for each individual ranging from weeks to years.
STAGE 1
SILENT AUTOIMMUNITY
AUTOANTIBODIES APPEAR
In the first stage, Autoimmunity develops in healthy but genetic‐susceptible individuals. The first signs appear with detection of autoantibodies in serum, these are called predictive auto-antibodies. These individuals have not yet experienced any signs or symptoms
STAGE 2
AUTOIMMUNE REACTIVITY
SIGNS & SYMPTOMS APPEAR
A specific inflammatory reaction occurs and there is detection of very early signs and symptoms of disease. There are relatively high levels of specific autoantibodies but there is no tissue destruction as yet eg antibodies to joint proteins may start to cause joint pain.
STAGE 3
AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE
TISSUE DESTRUCTION
Chronic inflammation leads to tissue destruction and disease develops. The disease can be relapsing or remitting, often involving permanent destruction and deformation. At this stage the classification criteria of the Autoimmune disease is fulfilled.
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