Autoimmune Life Blog

Community and news about autoimmune diseases, allergies and more.

Blog Main Image -  Peter Heldring Tree (Editorial)
April 5, 2018

How we Roll with type 1 diabetes

Like many people with a connection to a chronic disease, I do my best to keep up with news about trials and studies that could, just maybe, yield new preventions and treatments. Unfortunately, science does not always succeed in the traditional sense.

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Blog Main Image - Women Pregnant Talking Bench Outside
March 29, 2018

Let’s Talk: How to Approach Conversations on Autoimmune Diseases

Do you have a loved one who was recently diagnosed with a condition such as Type 1 Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, or Crohn’s? Conditions like these are part of a family of 80 + diseases caused by autoimmunity, and they are often connected genetically.

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Blog Main Image - T1D Diabetes Insulin Syringe Tent Outdoors
March 22, 2018

Identifying and Managing Type 1 Diabetes as a Young Adult

Your early 20s are often a time of major life change. You may have just moved away from home for the first time, started college, or joined the military. Your health care or medical routine may have become unbalanced or even nonexistent.

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Blog Main Image - Clinicians Hall Blurry
March 14, 2018

Driving Clinical Research

Virginia Mason is currently home to more than 100 clinical studies that give patients in nearly every clinical department a chance to participate in research and access new treatments.

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March 8, 2018

Women Living (And Thriving) with Autoimmune Diseases

Type 1 Diabetes doesn’t stop Michelle Peterson from a leading a fulfilling life with family and as director of communications and PR at Virginia Mason Medical Center.

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Blog Main Image - BRI Samples Frozen Hand Tongs
March 1, 2018

Personalizing Peanut Allergy Treatment

Pioneering research on peanut allergies at Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) was recently fueled by a $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to accelerate discovery of treatments.

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Blog Main Image - BRI Samples Vials Pink
February 27, 2018

Testing a New MS Therapy

Last winter, Elena Connors commuted over treacherous roads from Richland to Walla Walla for a job as a Russian language interpreter.

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Blog Main Image - BRI Researcher Handling Samples Hood
February 21, 2018

Heidner Grant Funds Lupus Discovery

Lupus is one of the most difficult autoimmune diseases to diagnose and treat. Clinicians and researchers at Virginia Mason and Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) are leaders in looking for causes and cures of the disease.

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Blog Main Image - BRI Researcher Woman Participant Man Blood Draw
February 14, 2018

Why Individual Contributions Matter More Than You’d Expect

If you’ve ever donated to a cause you care about, you may have found yourself wondering about how much of an impact your contribution made. You may be surprised to learn that individual contributions are actually the most powerful support mechanism for nonprofits to continue doing great work.

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Blog Main Image - 3D Neurons Electric Pulse
February 8, 2018

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is not one size fits all. MS is a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective myelin sheath that covers nerves - resulting in damage that disrupts communications between the brain and the body.

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