Posted by Al Gordon on October 25, 1998 at 21:45:36:
In Reply to: Re: Special Initiative in Autoimmune Disease Research posted by Sandy Donchess on October 25, 1998 at 20:43:55:
And my father had hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) that was successfully treated with radioactive iodine around 1960. I have a first cousin with IDDM, but other than that no autoimmune diseases in the family.
Even if this research initiative determines that autoimmunity disorders are familial, what clinical advances does that discovery lead to? It seems to me that, with some focused effort, there are eggs ready to hatch in the field of diabetes research, but so much of our resources are spent fiddling at the periphery. It's almost as if the scientific community is afraid of what's in the egg.
Al