autoimmune
adjective
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Any healthy body produces a variety of antibodies, proteins in the blood whose job is to protect the body from unwanted bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. The cells and organs that deal with such infections make up the immune system. In some people and animals, for various reasons, the antibodies become overactive and turn on the body's healthy tissues as well; the result is an autoimmune disease—an immune response directed against one's own self. More than eighty autoimmune diseases have been identified, the best-known being type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Examples of autoimmune in a Sentence
Quartz Bot, Quartz, 7 Nov. 2024
Too much iron in your body (hemochromatosis) can lead to certain autoimmune conditions and chronic liver disease, affecting how your body stores iron.5
Procedure
To collect a blood sample for the ferritin test, a healthcare provider inserts a needle into a vein in your arm.
—Lindsay Curtis, Health, 5 Nov. 2024
Still, these extraordinary results have set off a gold rush among biotech companies eager to solve autoimmune diseases.
—Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2024
Kennedy has recently focused on chronic disease issues like obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, autoimmune conditions, cancer, and addiction.
—Andi Shae Napier, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 30 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Autoimmune.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autoimmune. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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autoimmune
adjective
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autoimmune
adjective
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