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Autoimmune disorders

Dr. Kathleen McKinnon, rheumatologist and Director of the Center for Vasculitis Care and Research at MUSC
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Dr. Kathleen McKinnon, rheumatologist and Director of the Center for Vasculitis Care and Research at MUSC

This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Kathleen McKinnon about autoimmune disorders. Dr. McKinnon is a rheumatologist and Director of the Center for Vasculitis Care and Research at MUSC.

TRANSCRIPT:

Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. 50 million people in the U.S. have an autoimmune disorder, making it the third most prevalent disease category, surpassed only by cancer and heart disease. Doctor Kathleen McKinnon is here to talk about these disorders. Doctor McKinnon is a rheumatologist, and she's Director of the Center for Vasculitis Care and Research at MUSC. Doctor McKinnon, tell us about autoimmune disorders.

Dr. McKinnon: Well, autoimmune diseases cover a broad category of disorders, but basically an autoimmune disease is when your body's defense system turns on itself and it attacks the tissues or organs or cells of your body, like your body is an invader. And some of the disorders can be serious and even life-threatening if untreated.

Conner: What are some of the common autoimmune disorders?

Dr. McKinnon: So, there are a number of common disorders that many people have heard about. rheumatoid arthritis being a common rheumatologic autoimmune disorder, where the body's immune system attacks the joints. Psoriasis, a common autoimmune skin disorder that attacks the skin and can cause rash and other manifestations. Type one diabetes is an autoimmune disease that attacks the cells of the pancreas. Diseases like Graves disease of the thyroid and multiple sclerosis, where the protective coating of the nerves is attacked, also are considered autoimmune diseases.

Conner: And who's at risk and what causes these diseases?

Dr. McKinnon: Well, what causes these diseases is the million-dollar question. These diseases are so diverse that we are looking very hard for causes for most of them. And really the overall risk varies depending on the type of disease. There are things that can predispose you to an autoimmune disease. For example, there are some diseases that are seen predominantly in women, some that are seen predominantly in children. Certain ethnic and racial groups may be more at risk for diseases, for example, a disease like lupus, and certainly family history. Autoimmunity in the family can predispose you to an autoimmune disease. There have also been infections and industrial exposures postulated as causing certain autoimmune diseases. So, you can see that really our understanding of this part of autoimmunity is still fairly limited.

Conner: And how are all of these different disorders diagnosed accurately?

Dr. McKinnon: Well, these are very tricky and complicated to diagnose sometimes, but I think the primary care physicians, family practice doctors, internal medicine doctors are great at getting patients down the right gateway to diagnosis. When they see a patient and they hear about symptoms or see physical manifestations worrisome for disease, they typically refer them to the appropriate subspecialist for further evaluation.

Conner: And what's the goal of treatment for living with an autoimmune disease? Are we slowing the disease down or just dealing with symptoms?

Dr. McKinnon: Really, our overarching goal in these diseases is to get patients into what we consider disease remission, where the disease is quiet and not causing any damage to the body, as well as patients feeling well and being able to go about their normal activities and normal daily life.

Conner: And what are the typical treatments for this wide array of disorders?

Dr. McKinnon: The treatments center around modification and control of the immune system, since your immune system, your defense system is overactivated and attacking your body. And these diseases, we look for medications that can help quiet this attack and kind of balance out your immune system, lowering activity so the disease is quiet but not lowering it too much so that your risk for all infections that come along.

Conner: Doctor McKinnon, thanks for this update about autoimmune disorders.

Dr. McKinnon: That was my pleasure.

Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.

Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.

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Bobbi Conner has been producing and hosting public radio programs for over 30 years. She was the longtime host of the national Parents Journal public radio program. Conner has lived in the Charleston area for over twenty years.