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Perspective - Journal of Contemporary Medical Education (2022)

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Types of Immunodeficiency Diseases and its Causes

Ja Masa*
 
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
 
*Corresponding Author:

Ja Masa, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, Email: jamasa@gmail.com

Received: 04-Oct-2022, Manuscript No. JCMEDU-22-77757; Editor assigned: 07-Oct-2022, Pre QC No. JCMEDU-22-77757 (PQ); Reviewed: 21-Oct-2022, QC No. JCMEDU-22-77757; Revised: 28-Oct-2022, Manuscript No. JCMEDU-22-77757 (R); Published: 04-Nov-2022

Description

Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromisation, is a condition in which the immune system’s ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is impaired or absent. Most cases are acquired (“secondary”) due to external factors affecting the patient’s immune system. Examples of these external factors include HIV infection and environmental factors such as nutrition. Impaired immunity can also be associated with genetic diseases/ deficiencies such as SCID.

In the clinical setting, immunosuppression by some drugs, such as steroids, can be either a side effect or a putative goal of treatment. Examples of such uses are organ transplants as an anti-rejection measure and in patients with overactive immune systems, such as autoimmune diseases. Some people are born with intrinsic defects in the immune system or primary immunodeficiency.

A person who has an immunodeficiency of any kind is called immunodeficient. An immunocompromised person may be particularly vulnerable to opportunistic infections in addition to the common infections that can affect anyone. It also reduces immune surveillance of cancer, in which the immune system scans the body’s cells and kills neoplastic cells. They are also more susceptible to infectious diseases due to reduced protection provided by vaccines [1].

Types

Primary immunodeficiencies: Primary immunodeficiencies are disorders in which part of the body’s immune system is missing or does not function properly. To be considered a primary immunodeficiency (PID), the cause of the immune deficiency must not be secondary in nature (ie, caused by another disease, drug treatment, or exposure to environmental toxins). Most primary immunodeficiencies are genetic disorders; most are diagnosed in children under one year of age, although milder forms may be recognized only in adulthood. Although there are over 430 recognized PIDs as of 2019, most are very rare. About 1 in 500 people in the United States are born with primary immunodeficiency [2]. Immune deficiencies can lead to persistent or recurrent infections, auto-inflammatory diseases, tumors and disorders of various organs. There are currently a limited number of treatments for these diseases; most are specific to a particular type of PID. Studies are currently evaluating the use of stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and experimental gene therapy as treatments for limited subsets of PID [3].

Secondary immunodeficiencies: Secondary immunodeficiencies, also known as acquired immunodeficiencies, can result from a variety of immunosuppressive agents, such as poor diet, aging, certain medications (eg, chemotherapy, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, immunosuppressive drugs after organ transplantation, glucocorticoids), and environmental toxins , such as mercury and other heavy metals, pesticides and petrochemicals such as styrene, dichlorobenzene, xylene and ethylphenol [4]. In drug terms, the term immunosuppression usually refers to both the beneficial and potential adverse effects of reduced immune system function, while the term immunodeficiency usually refers solely to the adverse effect of increased risk of infection [5].

Many specific diseases directly or indirectly cause immunosuppression. This includes many types of cancer, especially cancers of the bone marrow and blood cells (leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma), as well as some chronic infections [6]. Immunodeficiency is also a hallmark of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV directly infects a small number of helper T cells and also indirectly impairs other immune system responses [7].

Various hormonal and metabolic disorders can also lead to immune deficiency, including anemia, hypothyroidism, and hyperglycemia. Smoking, alcoholism and drug addiction also suppress the immune response. Heavy training and competition schedules increase the risk of immune deficiency in athletes [8].

Causes

The cause of immunodeficiency varies depending on the nature of the disorder. The cause can be both genetic and acquired due to improper nutrition and poor sanitary conditions. Only for some genetic causes are the exact genes known.

References

Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.