Autoimmune Connection : Essential Information for Women on Diagnosis, Treatment and Getting on with Their Lives

These seemingly unrelated illnesses have many things in common: they all are believed to stem from an attack by the immune system on healthy tissue. They and several other autoimmune diseases share a host of similar symptoms and can be frustratingly difficult to diagnose. And 75 percent of people who suffer with these diseases are women. In fact, autoimmune diseases represent the third largest cause of chronic illness among American women. Yet, until recently, these diseases have received scant attention by the medical community, and women were often dismissed as hypochondriacs as they bounced from doctor to doctor in search of diagnosis and treatment. The Autoimmune Connection provides the answers you seek. In this groundbreaking book, women's health expert Rita Baron-Faust and Jill P. Buyon, M.D., a leading clinician and researcher, unravel the common threads that connect these diseases and explore genetic vulnerability, links to gender, and possible environmental triggers. With help from top specialists in the field and institutions leading the way in research, this book explains the intricacies of the immune system, why the body turns on itself, and how science is working to conquer these diseases. For the very first time, there is information on how autoimmune diseases can affect every stage of your life, from menstruation to menopause and beyond. Here you will also find dozens of resources, self-help groups, and special treatment centers around the country. With cutting-edge information coupled with compassion, the authors provide the information you need to take control of your health care and create a life of optimal health. Book jacket.

Rita Baron-Faust is an award-winning medical journalist and author of five books on women's health. She serves on the board of directors of the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and son Jill P. Buyon, M.D., is a professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and is the founder and director of the Lupus Clinic at the Hospital for Joint Diseases Orthopaedic Institute in New York City. She lives in New Rochelle, New York, with her family