When the Body Turns on Itself
By Jane Buckner
Molecular insights are revealing the hidden architecture of immune dysfunction—and how to stop autoimmune diseases before they begin.
This Article From Issue
July-August 2025
Volume 113, Number 4
Page 240
In the mid-1990s, I was working as a rheumatology fellow at the University of Washington studying rheumatoid arthritis. One day, I was asked to help draw blood from a research participant, which usually happened when the blood draw was particularly difficult. When I walked into the exam room, I found a young girl with type 1 diabetes sitting with her mother, who was participating in the study to help with research on the genetics of her daughter’s disease. The mother had severe rheumatoid arthritis, and she was in so much pain that she could not straighten her arms for the blood draw.
QUICK TAKE
- Autoimmune diseases seem disparate, but they share genetic underpinnings and exhibit similar immune system malfunctions. Triggers include lifestyle and environmental exposures.
- Researchers are now uncovering how these early immune system misfires unfold—and how to catch them in time—using predictive biomarkers such as autoantibodies.
- By screening for warning signs and targeting shared pathways with new therapeutics, researchers hope to be able to stop autoimmune conditions before symptoms begin.
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