Autoimmune Life Blog

Near the end of her second pregnancy, Katie Cleary noticed pink dots all over her legs. Her doctor said they would go away, but when they became worse after her baby was born, she went to a dermatologist. She was diagnosed with pleva, a skin disease characterized by a recurrent red rash.

Most kids take a backpack to school for their books and lunches. But since they were 4 and 7 years old, Aaron and Justin carry their backpacks everywhere. They are filled with lifesaving medications including epinephrine auto injectors and Benadryl. Aaron also carries an asthma inhaler.

The Immune Tolerance Network’s (ITN) TrialShare Clinical Trials Research Portal has won the National Academy of Sciences Data and Information Challenge. The theme of this year’s competition was “Using Data for the Public Good.”

Have you considered volunteering for a clinical research study, but were unsure if it was something you could do comfortably and confidently?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects more than a million people worldwide including 15,000 in the Northwest. It affects women twice as often as men. MS is the most common medical cause of neurological disability in young adults ages 20-40. Usually MS happens in multiple attacks.

Biomarkers are key tools for scientists studying autoimmune and other diseases. A biomarker is a measurable characteristic that reflects a normal biological process or disease state.

As a young man, Frank Dvorak had set his sights on a career in aviation. He was in his senior year at the Royal Military College of Canada when he received the life-changing diagnosis: type 1 diabetes. Because of his disease, he was grounded from flying.

Adam’s grandfather was diagnosed at age 12, his father, Reid, at age 29, and his older brother, Isaiah, at age 9. When Isaiah was diagnosed, his mother, Jenifer, began investigating if there was a way to keep Adam and his little sister, Rosie, from developing diabetes.

Celiac disease can be difficult to diagnose and has no cure. Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) recently launched a new biorepository for the disease to collect blood samples, tissue samples and medical histories of people with the disease.

The estate of Leonard and Majorie Wright of Mukilteo, Wash., recently bequeathed $2.5 million to Benaroya Research Institute for translational research. Marjorie Wright died in 2013 and Leonard Wright passed away in 2007. They were both patients at Virginia Mason Medical Center.