Immune Disorders and Autoimmunity
When the immune system does not work properly, it can become a source of repeated infections and serious illness. We will help you understand immune disorders and autoimmune diseases, and find the right path of care.
How the Immune System Works
The immune system protects us by recognising and destroying bacteria, viruses, and fungi. At the same time it watches over our own cells. The immune system eliminates any potentially harmful cells, such as cancerous cells or cells that are old and no longer needed, and in doing so it protects our organs.
What Is Reduced Immunity?
The immune system protects the body against bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and at the same time keeps watch over the body's own cells. It clears damaged, old, or potentially dangerous cells, helping to keep tissues and organs healthy.
When immunity is reduced (immunodeficiency), the body becomes more susceptible to infection, and the risk of certain diseases rises as well. Immunodeficiency can be congenital, but it is more often acquired. It is seen, for example, in patients with diabetes, in cancer and during cancer treatment, after surgery, with protein loss, or with medications that suppress the immune system.
A specific situation is HIV infection, in which the virus attacks white blood cells and gradually reduces their numbers, weakening the body's defences.
What Are the Typical Symptoms?
The symptoms depend on which part of the immune system is affected:
- Disorders of antibodies and complement: repeated bacterial infections, namely frequent sinusitis, middle ear infections, pneumonia, and purulent skin infections.
- Disorders of cellular immunity (the lymphocytes): repeated viral, fungal, and parasitic infections.
How Diagnosis and Treatment Work
The first step is to address why immunity is reduced. More than one part of the immune system can be involved, so disorders often overlap and are harder to diagnose. In a congenital immune disorder, the substances the body fails to produce are supplemented.
In some patients, a congenital form of reduced immunity is very serious and calls for demanding treatment, such as a bone marrow transplant. When reduced immunity arises as a consequence of another disease, the focus is on the underlying disease itself. Proper management of diabetes, for example, or treatment of protein loss in the urine, will help.
In our clinic, however, we more often see milder immune disorders that respond well to medication. We use, for example, transfer factors (a preparation derived from white blood cells) and bacterial lysates, which are tablets or solutions containing finely processed bacterial material. They help the immune system mount a stronger defence against real bacteria. In some cases no specific immune disorder is found; we then recommend changes in lifestyle that help prevent recurrent infections.
Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune disease develops on the basis of an inappropriate reaction of the immune system against the body's own tissues. Inflammation then damages individual organs and structures, with a wide range of clinical presentations.
The causes of autoimmunity are complex. They include genetic factors, the influence of hormones, immune activation during infection, chronic strain on the body, lifestyle, and, not least, stress.
Any organ or tissue can be affected, but the disease can also be systemic. Clinical presentations range from mild to very severe. In some cases we see only laboratory signs of an autoimmune tendency, without a full clinical picture of autoimmune disease.
Common organ-specific autoimmune diseases include autoimmune thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis, coeliac disease, type 1 diabetes mellitus, and many others.
Well-known systemic autoimmune diseases include lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and the vasculitides.
At our clinic we contribute to the diagnosis of autoimmune conditions. Follow-up care for patients with autoimmune disease is multidisciplinary. Treatment rests on dampening the activity of the immune system and on specific measures that keep the body functioning normally.
Improving Quality of Life
Our goal is to reduce the number and severity of infections and, in doing so, improve your quality of life.
How Gennet Can Help You
At our clinic we carry out the diagnosis and contribute to the follow-up of autoimmune conditions. Care is always delivered as a team. We work closely with other specialists (rheumatologists, endocrinologists, and others) so that treatment is comprehensive and targeted.
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The contact form is intended for new patients only. Existing patients are kindly asked to communicate by e-mail at alergologie@gennet.cz.
We greatly appreciate your interest in making an appointment at our allergy and clinical immunology outpatient clinic. At present, our capacity is significantly limited, especially for patients with allergies.
Once capacity becomes available, we will be pleased to welcome you.
A referral from a general practitioner or another referring physician is required for the examination.
Thank you for your understanding.
The team of doctors and nurses
Gennet Allergy and Clinical Immunology Outpatient Clinic
