Welcome to AiArthritis Voices 360.This episode join your host, Tiffany, and special guest Dr. Apostolos Kontzias from the Center of Autoinflammatory Diseases, as they discuss the distinction between these two sides of the immune system, and the diseases that stem from them. Inconclusive laboratory results, a shortage of experts in the field, and poor understanding of these conditions can cause diagnostic delays, leading to poor outcomes. This confusion also causes patients with adult onset diseases become a forgotten ...
Welcome to AiArthritis Voices 360.This episode join your host, Tiffany, and special guest Dr. Apostolos Kontzias from the Center of Autoinflammatory Diseases, as they discuss the distinction between these two sides of the immune system, and the diseases that stem from them. Inconclusive laboratory results, a shortage of experts in the field, and poor understanding of these conditions can cause diagnostic delays, leading to poor outcomes. This confusion also causes patients with adult onset diseases become a forgotten subgroup within the AiArthritis community.
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Show Notes: Episode 3 – “Autoimmune vs Autoinflammatory”
00:52 – Tiffany welcomes listeners
01:49 – This episode will explain autoimmune vs autoinflammatory arthritis
02:41 - “Auto” in both terms means immune mediated
03:13 - This will be an ongoing discussion beyond today’s episode
04:29 - Tiffany welcomes special guest, Dr. Apostolos Kontzias
05:24 - Dr. Kontzias’ credentials
07:40 - Dr. Kontzias explains the distinction between autoimmune and autoinflammatory, which both stem from the immune system, just different sides (“innate” vs “acquired”)
09:00 - Autoinflammatory patients usually lack laboratory markers for autoimmune disease - despite inflammatory symptoms - which can cause a diagnostic delay
09:23 - Both autoimmune patients and autoinflammatory patients can present with arthritis and other common features (fatigue, varying degrees of fevers)
10:16 - Autoinflammatory syndromes are innate (of unknown cause, from the primal part of the immune system) and thus can present early in life, but some do not present until adulthood
11:42 - Either type of immune response may be initially triggered by environmental factors, but also environmental factors can trigger disease activity
12:12 - Viral infections can trigger autoinflammatory syndromes
12:25 - Menstruation can trigger increases in symptoms for female patients for either type of disease
12:55 - Some conditions “bridge” the two types and can have features of both adaptive and innate immunity.
14:14 - By definition, patients with autoinflammatory conditions have an immune system that does not recognize the patient’s own structural components of their cells
15:17 - Fevers and rashes are often markers for autoinflammatory conditions. General markers for inflammation without laboratory results that support traditional autoimmune diagnoses are also predictive of autoinflammatory conditions
17:37 - Tiffany thanks Dr. Kontzias for his time
18:37 - IFAA working on designing informational brochure about Stills Disease based on patient input
19:28 - Patients report that there are differences between pediatric and adult Stills Disease even though scientifically they are the same
20:34 - Adults have extreme difficulty receiving accurate diagnosis for Stills Disease because the medical community only considers it as a plausible diagnosis for children
21:02 - IFAA wants to shine a light on those with adult onset autoinflammatory conditions because they are often a forgotten subgroup within our community
22:36 - Tiffany points out that there are so many patients who are told they do not have a problem because they do not have the positive lab results or biomarkers, including autoimmune (not specific to autoinflammatory, requires further discussion)
23:22 - Dr. Kontzias and IFAA want all medical professionals to listen to patients
24:13 - What else do you need to understand to help with your journey? Submit responses at www.aiarthritis.org/podcast
24:19 - If you are a medical professional, we want to hear your ideas on how we can help people understand these diseases better and lead to earlier detection or better disease management. Submit responses at www.aiarthritis.org/podcast
25:09 - Tiffany thanks listeners for tuning in to learn more about the difference between autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases.
