A ground-breaking study of autoimmune diseases--including chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, lupus, and multiple sclerosis--draws on the latest research into these frequently misdiagnosed and controversial ailments to shed new light on these conditions, how they affect women, and how to best treat them. Reprint. 15,000 first printing. A cutting-edge examination of the mysterious world of autoimmune disease--and the new discoveries made daily that may save women's lives Autoimmune diseases--including chronic fatigue syndrome, vasculitis, juvenile diabetes, alopecia, Graves' disease, Sjogren's syndrome, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis--are among the most devastating conditions afflicting women today and the most resistant to diagnosis and treatment. In all of them, the body's immune system begins to attack healthy and normally functioning cells. And one of the biggest puzzles is why 80 percent of autoimmune disease sufferers are women. In this groundbreaking book, world-class immunologist Dr. Robert Lahita brings years of intensive research, patient care, and diagnostics to shed light on the mysteries of these conditions, with a particular focus on how they affect--and how he treats--women. Through case studies, he reveals the early warning signs, symptoms, diagnostic processes, and the most innovative treatments for all the most common--and many of the less well known--autoimmune diseases. He offers a scientifically sound and sensitive work that is the best resource available to help understand these perplexing and debilitating diseases. INTRODUCTION xi PART ONE: WHAT IS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE? ONE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM: 3(15) First Line of Defense TWO AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES 18(19) PART TWO: THE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES THREE THE ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID SYNDROME: 37(14) Sticky Blood FOUR IDIOPATHIC THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA: 51(10) Murder in the Village: The Case of the Homicidal Antibody FIVE TYPE 1 JUVENILE DIABETES: 61(13) When Sweetness Falls from Grace SIX MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: 74(14) Electricity without Insulation SEVEN PANDAS: 88(9) The Jekyll and Hyde Syndrome EIGHT STREPTOCOCCAL INFECTION AND RHEUMATIC FEVER: 97(8) A Bacterial Mime NINE VASCULITIS: 105(11) Destroyed Pipes TEN SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS: 116(16) The Red Wolf ELEVEN ALOPECIA UNIVERSALIS: 132(11) Bald All Over TWELVE SJOGREN'S SYNDROME: 143(12) Dry as a Desert THIRTEEN AUTOIMMUNE THYROID DISEASE: 155(6) Disabling the Body's Nuclear Reactor FOURTEEN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE OF THE LIVER: 161(7) Lucky Woman Thrown by a Horse FIFTEEN SCLERODERMA: 168(14) The Woman with Thick Skin SIXTEEN POLYMYOSITIS AND DERMATOMYOSITIS: 182(8) Ragged Fibers SEVENTEEN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: 190(13) Like Swimming through a Bowl of Jell-O EIGHTEEN FIBROMYALGIA, CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, AND SILICONE IMPLANT SYNDROME: 203(12) The Mystery Diseases PART THREE: TREATMENTS NINETEEN DRUGS AND OTHER THERAPIES: 215(21) Harnessing the Immune System TWENTY ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES: 236(21) From Acupuncture to Zinc GLOSSARY 257(10) SUGGESTED READING 267(6) HELPFUL ORGANIZATIONS 273(2) INDEX 275