Immune System Failure

As everyone knows, our immune system is responsible for protecting our body from foreign invaders that can bring in sickness and disease. However, sometimes our body’s defense system is not working properly and sometimes the defense system works all too well and starts to attack the body and itself.

Lets us take a look as to why this happens.

The immune system is an impressive network of defense that is made up leukocytes (i.e. white blood cells)along with a support system of proteins, tissues and organs that are there to store, procuce and assist them in their battles against foreign invaders.

There are two different types of Leukocytes:

• Phagocytes: the initial destroyers of foreign invaders. These guys are the sentries who help us fight off infections. A common phagocyte is a neutrophil whose main job is to fight off bacteria. To find out if there is bacterial infection, many doctors will perform a blood test to look for raise levels of Neutrophils.

• Lymphocytes: these guys are the assassins of the immune system which remember previous invaders, or antigens and attack them if they show up again. Lymphocytes can be either B Cells which find the antigens or T-Cells which are sent by the B-cells to destroy the foreign invaders.

Common immune system problems

Although our defensive system is relatively simple, there are a number of varied and complex problems that can occur that can compromise it.

• Immunodeficiency: this is when part of the immune system is either missing or malfunctioning. An example of immunodeficiency is when there is not enough of the immunoglobulin IgA in the body’s fluids. When IgA production is lacking, antigens may get into the body causing allergies, colds and respiratory infections.
• SCID or severe combined immunodeficiency is another problem that can arise. This is when the body does not produce enough B cells or T cells making it virtually defenseless against attacking antigens,  AIDS (Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) cause by the HIV virus is one such problem. The HIV virus attacks  the T-helper cells,  disabling the system  allowing normally harmless antigens to compromise the system.  There are also certain types of medications meant for organ transplant recipients that are designed to suppress the body’s defensive system. Both of these result  in a weak immune system.
• Other times, the immune system goes haywire and attacks the body itself as if it were an antigen. This is the case with Lupus, a condition in which the muscles and joints are attacked. Rheumatoid arthritis is another such type of immune system problem in which the knee, hand and foot joints are attacked. Scleroderma is anpther type which can affect the skin and internal organs.