AUTOIMMUNE DISORDER

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does autoimmune disorder mean? 

• AUTOIMMUNE DISORDER (noun)
  The noun AUTOIMMUNE DISORDER has 1 sense:

1. any of a large group of diseases characterized by abnormal functioning of the immune system that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against your own tissues

  Familiarity information: AUTOIMMUNE DISORDER used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AUTOIMMUNE DISORDER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of a large group of diseases characterized by abnormal functioning of the immune system that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against your own tissues

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

autoimmune disease; autoimmune disorder

Hypernyms ("autoimmune disorder" is a kind of...):

disease (an impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning)

Meronyms (parts of "autoimmune disorder"):

autoimmunity (production of antibodies against the tissues of your own body; produces autoimmune disease or hypersensitivity reactions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "autoimmune disorder"):

myasthenia; myasthenia gravis (a chronic progressive disease characterized by chronic fatigue and muscular weakness (especially in the face and neck); caused by a deficiency of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junctions)

disseminated multiple sclerosis; disseminated sclerosis; MS; multiple sclerosis (a chronic progressive nervous disorder involving loss of myelin sheath around certain nerve fibers)

autoimmune diabetes; growth-onset diabetes; IDDM; insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; juvenile-onset diabetes; juvenile diabetes; ketoacidosis-prone diabetes; ketosis-prone diabetes; type I diabetes (severe diabetes mellitus with an early onset; characterized by polyuria and excessive thirst and increased appetite and weight loss and episodic ketoacidosis; diet and insulin injections are required to control the disease)

exophthalmic goiter; Graves' disease (exophthalmos occurring in association with goiter; hyperthyroidism with protrusion of the eyeballs)

atrophic arthritis; rheumatism; rheumatoid arthritis (a chronic autoimmune disease with inflammation of the joints and marked deformities; something (possibly a virus) triggers an attack on the synovium by the immune system, which releases cytokines that stimulate an inflammatory reaction that can lead to the destruction of all components of the joint)

ankylosing spondylitis; Marie-Strumpell disease; rheumatoid spondylitis (a chronic form of spondylitis primarily in males and marked by impaired mobility of the spine; sometimes leads to ankylosis)

discoid lupus erythematosus; DLE (a chronic skin disease occurring primarily in women between the ages of 20 and 40; characterized by an eruption of red lesions over the cheeks and bridge of the nose)

Hashimoto's disease (autoimmune disorder of the thyroid gland; most common in middle-aged women)

LE; lupus erythematosus (a chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints))

pemphigus (a skin disease characterized by large thin-walled blisters (bullae) arising from normal skin or mucous membrane)

dermatosclerosis; scleroderma (an autoimmune disease that affects the blood vessels and connective tissue; fibrous connective tissue is deposited in the skin)

idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura; purpura hemorrhagica; thrombocytopenic purpura; Werlhof's disease (purpura associated with a reduction in circulating blood platelets which can result from a variety of factors)

 Context examples 

Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune disorder, is the most common cause.

(Hypothyroidism, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Grave's disease, an autoimmune disorder, is the most common cause.

(Hyperthyroidism, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

An autoimmune disorder in which the number of circulating platelets is reduced due to their antibody-mediated destruction.

(Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, NCI Thesaurus)

Scientists do know it is an autoimmune disorder, which means your immune system, which normally helps your body fight infection, attacks your body's own tissues.

(Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

It is thought to be an autoimmune disorder precipitated by several factors, including local infection, and smoking.

(Palmoplantar Pustulosis, NCI Thesaurus)

An autoimmune disorder characterized by the production of autoantibodies against type IV collagen of the glomerular basement membrane of the kidney.

(Anti-Glomerular Basement Membrane Disease, NCI Thesaurus)

An autoimmune disorder characterized by pulmonary hemorrhage and glomerulonephritis.

(Goodpasture Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

A chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by the development of blisters and ulcers in mucous membranes.

(Benign Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid, NCI Thesaurus)

A rare autoimmune disorder that usually affects children.

(Autoimmune enteropathy, NCI Thesaurus)

C3 deficiency is associated with recurrent bacterial infections, while a lack of C2 can cause antibody-antigen complexes to accumulate and cause the autoimmune disorder systemic lupus erythematosus.

(Complement Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)