autoimmune
adjective
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Any healthy body produces a variety of antibodies, proteins in the blood whose job is to protect the body from unwanted bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. The cells and organs that deal with such infections make up the immune system. In some people and animals, for various reasons, the antibodies become overactive and turn on the body's healthy tissues as well; the result is an autoimmune disease—an immune response directed against one's own self. More than eighty autoimmune diseases have been identified, the best-known being type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Examples of autoimmune in a Sentence
Daryl Austin, USA Today, 2 May 2025
India Bolton spent her college years managing the onset of psoriasis, an autoimmune disease that causes inflamed patches of skin that can range from itchy to painful.
—Anisa Arsenault, Health, 30 Apr. 2025
How Dogs Benefit Your Gut Health The reason why there are fewer instances of allergies or autoimmune diseases in farming communities or households with animals remains unclear.
—Ava Erickson, Outside Online, 29 Apr. 2025
People with celiac disease, a hereditary autoimmune disorder, have to eat a gluten-free diet.
—Katie Akin, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autoimmune
Cite this Entry
“Autoimmune.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autoimmune. Accessed 15 May. 2025.
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autoimmune
adjective
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autoimmune
adjective
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