Posted 12/3/2014 8:05 AM (GMT 0)
Our immune systems are definitely smart, and the regulatory mechanisms to make sure it doesn't go crazy are amazing. It truly is a sophisticated, intelligent system. But that doesn't mean malfunctions can't happen. If everyone's immune systems naturally have checks and balances in place to make sure that those systems don't attack your own tissue, then it's totally plausible that people can have genetic defects in that checks and balances system that causes the immune system to go crazy. My point is that it's not at all far fetched that autoimmunity exists.
With the recent finding that many common AI diseases are actually activated by regions of DNA that aren't genes, but areas that just switch on genes, many autoimmune diseases that have sudden onset later in life are probably the result of epigenetic changes. Basically, something turns these genes on. I strongly believe we can find ways to turn them off.
You're right, something causes the disease, something has to cause the flare ups. There are definitely reasons behind it, we just don't know it yet.