Systemic autoimmune diseases are characterized by dysfunction of the immune system which causes the body to attack its tissues.
These diseases present significant gender differences in terms of prevalence, pathogenesis, clinical picture, and response to therapy.
The activities carried out at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS, the National Institute of Health in Italy) in this area concern the identification and characterization of the mechanisms involved in autoimmune reactions, the evaluation of the role of autoantibodies and autoantigens as pathology biomarkers for diagnostic and prognostic purposes, and the study of mechanisms underlying gender differences such as lifestyles, genetic and hormonal factors.
