A cutting-edge examination of the mysterious world of autoimmune disease, and the daily new discoveries that will save women's lives.
Autoimmune diseases - including chronic fatigue syndrome, vasculitis, juvenile diabetes, alopecia, Graves' Disease, Sjogren's Syndrome, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis - are among the hottest topics in the medical community. Although these diseases express themselves in different ways, in all of them, the body's immune system begins to attack normally functioning, healthy cells.
Despite the recent surge in interest and research, these fascinating diseases are highly mysterious, often misdiagnosed, and controversial in cause and treatment. They are often interconnected in ways that are transparent to doctors but life-threatening if not understood. And one of the biggest puzzles is why 80 percent of autoimmune disease sufferers are women.
Until now, an authoritative yet thoroughly approachable guide to these diseases has never been available. In this groundbreaking book, world-class immunologist Dr Robert Lahita brings to bear his years of intensive research, patient care, and diagnostics to shed light on the mysteries of these conditions, with a particular focus on how they affect - and how to treat - women.
One of the world's foremost authorities on the subject, Dr Lahita strikes a refreshing balance between medical explanation and readability. Through the use of case studies, he reveals the early warning signs (some as innocent seeming as headaches, nausea, or exhaustion), symptoms, diagnostic process, and the most innovative treatments for all the most common - and many of the less well known - autoimmune diseases.
He offers a scientifically sound, grounded, thorough, and sensitive work that will be greeted with relief by women everywhere who want to understand these perplexing and debilitating diseases.
