Definitions for "Autoimmune disorders"
Autoimmunity is a result of a misdirected immune system that causes one’s own immune system to attack itself. Rheumatic heart disease, multiple sclerosis, Graves disease, Sjogren syndrome, autoimmune thyroiditis, psoriasis, Kawasaki disease and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus are all autoimmune disorders that have been linked to several foodborne bacteria including, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Yersinia and Clostridium.
Any of a large group of diseases (for example idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), lupus or rheumatoid arthritis), that occur when the body tissues are attacked by its own immune system, a complex organization within the body that, when functioning normally, seeks out and destroys invaders of the body, particularly infections. A healthy immune system distinguishes things within the body as "self" or "nonself" and gets rid of those that are "nonself" (for example, bacteria or viruses). In patients with these diseases, the immune system does not work properly, and treats its own body tissues as "nonself". This results in production of antibodies against the body's own tissues, causing inflammation and tissue destruction.
Conditions in which the immune system mistakenly identifies cells of the body as foreign material, producing an immune response against the body itself.