Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
Welcome to our internet family. I'm not familiar with your condition, but I would assume that primary immune deficiency is linked with selective IgA deficiency - or am I wrong? How long have you had LC?
One example of why I feel that our immune system can display altered symptoms, as it deploys it's resources to other "targets", is the way we react to helminths, (pig whipworms). Are you aware of the research done in recent years demonstrating that if a patient with an IBD ingests an adequate "dose" of helminth eggs, once the eggs hatch, and the worms "attach", IBD symptoms will usually promptly go into remission. The reason why pig whipworms are used, (rather than human or canine species, for example), is because they cannot reproduce in the human body, so they cannot permanently populate the intestines. In fact, the "treatment" has to be repeated on a monthly basis, or the worms will slowly die out, and the IBD symptoms will return. Clearly, though, the treatment works, because the immune system is distracted by the helminths, so that it discontinues the autoimmune reaction, in order to concentrate on the helminths.
Some experts feel that the reason why IBDs are suddenly on the upswing in the last few decades, is because we, (as a society), have become "too sanitary", and our immune systems get bored with nothing to do, and launch autoimmune attacks.
That helminth treatment is actually available, incidentally, though it's not very popular, since most people consider ingesting pig whipworm eggs to be more than a little unpalatable.
Please feel free to ask anything that comes to mind. We're family, here. (The reason why we consider ourselves a family, is because no one truly understands this disease, unless they actually have it).Again, welcome aboard,
Tex (Wayne)
