Autoimmune Disease

Abstract

Autoimmune diseases (ADs) are a heterogeneous group of diseases affecting 8–10% of the Western population, which constitute a heavy burden to society and are often debilitating and disabling for affected individuals. ADs are defined as an impairment of the immune system resulting in the loss of immune tolerance against self-tissues, by the existence of autoreactive T and B cells and by a complex mechanism of multifactorial aetiology, across genetics and environmental factors (Alexander and Greco 2022). Autoimmunity is also linked to autoinflammation, having common features as the activation against self, with subsequent systemic inflammation (Chap. 93).