What are Autoimmune diseases and are they genetic? | Ohio State Medical Center

Miriam Freimer, MD, is a neurologist and Director of the Myasthenia Gravis Clinic at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center. She discusses the various types of immune-mediated, or autoimmune, diseases and if they are hereditary disorders.

[keitymarley]

My father just completed his Rheumatoid arthritis treatment from Madida Herbal Center, he is completely okay and cured now.”

[Germatti]

I would like to know if autoimmune diseases are genetic because my twin brother and I both have children that have autoimmune diseases. His son, born first, has spherocytosis and my daughter born two years later has the familial cousin of the disease called paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). I know that I have autoimmune diseases- Sjogren's, Raynaud Syndrome, thyroid, arthritis, and fibromyalgia. My twin brother recently was diagnosed with Chandler's syndrome and I'm sure that he also has a connective tissue disorder. On one side, our family has a history of muscular dystrophy of both age-related onset and at birth. My daughter was diagnosed at 29 with PNH after being ill 10 years but her 31 year old cousin was diagnosed with the familial cousin of the disease of PNH called spherocytosis at 4 1/2 years old and only had to have his spleen removed. My daughter has to have treatment every week and due to hemolysis it may get far worse.
I read that since I have autoimmune diseases than there was a 35% chance that my child would also have one. Now I try to look back in history and see which great-grandparent were ill. My paternal great-grandmother was bedridden from middle-aged to her death at 96 but no one ever knew why. Now I wonder if she didn't have an autoimmune disease.