YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM: WHEN CELLS REBEL
Sometimes the delicate systems of checks and balances in our body fail, and our fighting cells do turn against us. When this happens, we call the problem an autoimmune disease. One of these diseases, called systemic lupus erythematosis, is an often-fatal illness that afflicts mostly young women. There’s also idiopathic ulcerative colitis, which may cause, among other problems, bloody diarrhea. Polyarteritis, a severe disease of the arteries I used to see a lot of, is an autoimmune disease, as is scleroderma, which produces a thickening of the skin, esophagus, lungs, intestinahtract and other body tissues. One of the most horrifying moments I ever experienced as a young doctor was when I touched a patient’s arm and his skin came off in my hand. He was suffering from an auto-immune disease called derma-tomyositis.
Crushing an Autoimmune Rebellion. . .
This is not easy task. We can, however, often read the signs of a potential problem in the blood. Although the helper cells and suppressor cells look alike, we can measure the amounts of each in a blood sample. I routinely examine these cells in those patients I suspect of having an immune-system malfunction.
. Because the T8 (suppressor) cells are designed to keep an eye on the rabble-rousing T4 (helper) cells, the ratio between the two is an important indicator of one’s immune-system health.
As I point out in Chapter Eleven, the T4/T8 ratio should range from about 1.6 to 1.8 (1.6 to 1.8 helper cells for every one suppressor cell). A T4/T8 ratio less than one is a strong indication of a severe immune abnormality: not enough helper cells to spur the fighting cells into action.
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