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Autoinflammatory Diseases

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/autoinflammatory-diseases

What are autoinflammatory diseases? Autoinflammatory diseases refer to problems with the immune system, which usually fights off viruses, bacteria, and infection. The problem causes your immune cells to attack your body by mistake. This can cause swelling that produces fever, rash, joint swelling, or serious buildup of a blood protein in your organs.

Pemphigus

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/pemphigus

What is pemphigus? Pemphigus is a type of disease where the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells in the top layer of skin (epidermis). It causes blisters on the skin and in the mouth, nose, throat, eyes, and genitals. Some forms of pemphigus can cause death if not treated.

When Your Back Hurts, Don’t Let Back Pain Knock You Flat

https://www.niams.nih.gov/newsroom/spotlight-on-research/dont-let-back-pain-knock-you-flat

Is your back hurting? You’re in good company. In any 3-month period, about 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. has at least one day of back pain, mostly in the lower back. The back is a complicated structure. Its center is the spine, which is made up of 33 bones called vertebrae, stacked in a column. The nerves of the spinal cord run in a tunnel through the middle of those bones. Spongy discs between the vertebrae act as cushions. Ligaments and tendons hold everything together. A lot of things can go wrong with your back. A strained muscle

Atopic Dermatitis

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/atopic-dermatitis

What is atopic dermatitis? Atopic dermatitis, often called eczema, is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that causes the skin to become inflamed and irritated, making it extremely itchy. Scratching leads to: Redness. Swelling. Cracking. “Weeping” clear fluid. Crusting. Scaling. In most cases, there are times when the disease is worse, called flares, followed by times when the skin improves or clears up entirely, called remissions. Atopic dermatitis is a common condition, and anyone can get the disease. However, it usually begins in childhood. Atopic dermatitis cannot be spread from person to person. No one knows what causes atopic dermatitis. Depending on

Tendinitis

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/tendinitis

What is tendinitis? Tendinitis is swelling and pain in a tendon, which is tissue that connects muscles to bones. It is a common condition, usually caused by repeated injuries to a tendon.

Osteonecrosis

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/osteonecrosis

What is osteonecrosis? Your bones are made up of living cells that need a blood supply to stay healthy. In osteonecrosis, blood flow to part of a bone is reduced. This causes death of bone tissue, and the bone can eventually break down and the joint will collapse. Osteonecrosis can happen to any bone, but most often it develops in the ends of long bones, such as the: Thigh bone. Upper arm bone. Less often, the bones of the elbows, ankles, feet, wrists, and hands are affected. When the disease involves part of a bone in a joint, it can

Vitiligo

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/vitiligo

What is vitiligo? Vitiligo is a chronic (long-lasting) disorder that causes areas of skin to lose color. When skin cells that make color are attacked and destroyed, the skin turns a milky-white color. No one knows what causes vitiligo, but it may be an autoimmune disease. In people with autoimmune diseases, the immune cells attack the body’s own healthy tissues by mistake, instead of viruses or bacteria. A person with vitiligo sometimes may have family members who also have the disease. There is no cure for vitiligo, but treatment may help skin tone appear more even.

Acne

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/acne

What is acne? Acne is a common skin condition that happens when hair follicles under the skin become clogged. Oil and dead skin cells plug the pores, and outbreaks of lesions (often called pimples or zits) can happen. Most often, the outbreaks occur on the face but can also appear on the back, chest, and shoulders. For most people, acne tends to go away by the time they reach their thirties, but some people in their forties and fifties continue to have this skin problem.

Giant Cell Arteritis

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/giant-cell-arteritis

What is giant cell arteritis? Giant cell arteritis causes the arteries of the scalp and neck to become red, hot, swollen, or painful. The arteries most affected are those in the temples on either side of the head. These arteries narrow, so not enough blood can pass through. It is important that you get treatment right away. Otherwise, the arteries could be permanently damaged. There is also a risk of blindness or stroke. If you have giant cell arteritis, your doctor should also look for signs of another disorder, polymyalgia rheumatica. These conditions often occur together.

Back Pain

https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/back-pain

What is back pain? Back pain is one of the most common medical problems in the United States. It might feel like a dull, constant ache or a sudden, sharp pain. Back pain can result from: An accident. A fall. Lifting something heavy. Changes that happen in the spine as you age. A disorder or medical condition. Treatment depends on the cause and symptoms of your pain. You can do things to improve your health and lower your chance of developing chronic (long-lasting) back pain.

Modified Protein Improves Vitiligo Symptoms in Mice

https://www.niams.nih.gov/newsroom/spotlight-on-research/modified-protein-improves-vitiligo-symptoms-mice

Altering a key protein involved in the development of vitiligo may protect against—or even reverse—the pigmentation loss associated with the skin disorder in mice, according to recent research funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Vitiligo is a progressive autoimmune disease in which the skin cells that impart color (melanocytes) are destroyed, resulting in white patches on the face, hands and other parts of the body. Scientists are unsure what causes vitiligo. They are investigating the biological mechanisms that trigger the disease, as well as its

Same Immune Regulatory Protein Found to Play Instrumental Role in Two Hereditary Autoinflammatory Diseases

https://www.niams.nih.gov/newsroom/spotlight-on-research/same-immune-regulatory-protein-found

Research funded in part by the NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) has revealed a new role for A20, a protein that regulates a key immune response pathway, in certain early-onset autoinflammatory diseases. The results suggest that targeting this pathway could be an effective strategy for treating these diseases, and possibly related conditions, as well.

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