Autoimmune Endocrine Dysfunction

Autoimmune responses can occur against any gland, any tissue, any hormone or neurotransmitter. Autoimmune responses against endocrine glands are commonplace in clinical practice.  Many individuals in the healthcare system present with autoimmune endocrine patterns that are not addressed in case management by healthcare providers.  It is not considered standard practice to investigate autoimmune endocrine dysfunction with individuals that present with glandular defect. The question of why the individual's gland stopped working is normally never questioned. Clinically, when a patient presents with an autoimmune endocrine pattern, nutritional support specific for the endocrine gland, glandular therapy and even hormone replacement does very little to improve the individuals response and physiology.

When investigating the mechanisms that lead to an autoimmune response, we see that many variables are involved which include genetics, environment, endocrine in balances, chemical exposure, antigen response, stress response, etc. The symbiotic orchestration of these factors at a given time period appear to switch on genes that attack our own cells. 
 
The immune system protects us from invasion by foreign microbes. It is our bodies military system to identify and destroy organisms that may harm us or live off our energy reserves such as bacteria, parasites, viruses, ect. However, the immune system does more than just protect us from the non-self antigens.  The immune system is involved with destroying our own cells to help us illuminate dead or senescent cells. This process is called cellular apoptosis and if this system fails, cancer develops.  Our immune system is responsible for creating inflammatory responses that allow us to heal after injury, but if the inflammatory response is not regulated properly it can promote degenerative changes and disease.