Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Rare Autoimmune Liver Diseases

Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Rare Autoimmune Liver Diseases By Kathleen Hoffman, PhD, MSPH The liver has been called a forgiving organ because of its capacity to regenerate. However, chronic unrelenting damage over years can overwhelm its regenerative abilities, resulting in permanent scarring. Well-known risk factors-being overweight, alcohol abuse, viral infections like Hepatits-C--make cirrhosis of the liver the seventh leading cause of death in the US, affecting an estimated 1 in 400 adults. 1 Yet, a small number of cirrhosis cases are caused by three rare autoimmune diseases,  autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and [...]

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Jan 2019By |1 Comment

Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Autoimmune Diseases

Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Autoimmune Diseases The Autoimmune Diseases Support Community on Inspire created over 25,000 posts this past year. One of the over 21,000 members shared her experience with the community in a video. JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGUS1WSTcwQ1QzZlUlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjBhbGxvdyUzRCUyMmF1dG9wbGF5JTNCJTIwZW5jcnlwdGVkLW1lZGlhJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF According to the NIH, there are over 80 diseases caused by the immune system attacking the body.1 Some of the more common include type 1 diabetes, lupus, inflammatory bowel diseases, celiac disease, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Symptoms that first appear - like fever, fatigue and muscle aches - describe a number of ailments. Getting a diagnosis can [...]

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May 2018By |0 Comments

Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Living With Ostomy

Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Living With Ostomy “The same thing could be said about guys who go to war, that unless you've been there you can't really understand what it is like and so your really best buddies are the ones that have been warriors like you…Those are the people you can really relate to the best, even more so than your own family.”  ~member of the Ostomy Support Community on Inspire. People who have been through the operation that removes all or portions of their colons, ileums or bladders must live with and adapt [...]

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Dec 2017By |0 Comments

Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Systemic Scleroderma

Video Vignettes: Through Their Own Eyes: Systemic Scleroderma Approximately 300,000 people in the US live with scleroderma; about 100,000 of those people live with a form called systemic scleroderma.1 Scleroderma is a connective tissue disorder involving the fibrous protein called collagen that is found in structures like cartilage, ligaments and tendons, throughout the body.  People with  scleroderma make too much collagen and it builds up in tissues.  Often one of the first symptoms of scleroderma is hardening of the skin. The cause of scleroderma is unknown and there is no cure.  It can occur as a localized [...]

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Sep 2017By |0 Comments