An immune-mediated inflammatory disease (IMID) is any of a group of conditions or diseases that lack a definitive

etiology Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek (''aitiología'') "giving a reason for" (, ''aitía'', "cause"); and ('' -logía''). More completely, e ...

, but which are characterized by common inflammatory pathways leading to inflammation, and which may result from, or be triggered by, a

dysregulation Emotional dysregulation is a range of emotional responses that are poorly modulated and do not lie within a desirable scope of emotive response. Emotional dysregulation can be associated with an experience of early psychological trauma, brain in ...

of the normal immune response. All IMIDs can cause end organ damage, and are associated with increased morbidity and/or

mortality Mortality is the state of being mortal, or susceptible to death; the opposite of immortality. Mortality may also refer to: * Fish mortality, a parameter used in fisheries population dynamics to account for the loss of fish in a fish stock throug ...

. Inflammation is an important and growing area of

biomedical Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

research and health care because inflammation mediates and is the primary driver of many medical disorders and

autoimmune diseases An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a functioning body part. At least 80 types of autoimmune diseases have been identified, with some evidence suggesting that there may be more than 100 types. Nearly a ...

, including

ankylosing spondylitis Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints of the spine typically where the spine joins the pelvis. Occasionally areas affected may include other joints such as the shoulders or hip ...

, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis,

Behçet's disease Behçet's disease (BD) is a type of inflammatory disorder which affects multiple parts of the body. The most common symptoms include painful sores on the mucous membranes of the mouth and other parts of the body, inflammation of parts of the e ...

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In some ...

inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine and large intestine, as well ...

(IBD), and

allergy Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic dermat ...

, as well as many

cardiovascular The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, t ...

neuromuscular A neuromuscular junction (or myoneural junction) is a chemical synapse between a motor neuron and a muscle fiber. It allows the motor neuron to transmit a signal to the muscle fiber, causing muscle contraction. Muscles require innervation to ...

, and infectious diseases. Some current research even suggests that

aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. I ...

is a consequence, in part, of inflammatory processes.

Characterization

IMID is characterized by

immune disregulation Immune dysregulation is any proposed or confirmed breakdown or maladaptive change in molecular control of immune system processes. For example, dysregulation is a component in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and some cancers. Immune system ...

, and one underlying manifestation of this immune disregulation is the inappropriate activation of inflammatory

cytokines Cytokines are a broad and loose category of small proteins (~5–25 kDa) important in cell signaling. Cytokines are peptides and cannot cross the lipid bilayer of cells to enter the cytoplasm. Cytokines have been shown to be involved in autocr ...

, such as IL-12, IL-6 or TNF alpha, whose actions lead to

pathological Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in th ...

consequences.

Bibliography

* Shurin, Michael R. and Yuri S. Smolkin (editors). ''Immune Mediated Diseases: From Theory to Therapy'' (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology). Springer, 2007.

References

idid.us: immune mediated inflammatory diseases, inflammatory diseases of immune dysregulation
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308114047/http://www.idid.us/ , date=2018-03-08 Cause (medicine) Inflammations Immune system disorders

Characterization

See also

Bibliography

References