Intolerant Bodies: A Short History of Autoimmunity

Anderson, of the University of Sydney, and Mackay, of Australia’s Monash University, consider autoimmune diseases, focusing on multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes in a fast-paced, jam-packed survey of medical history, clinical data, and patient accounts. The examination reaches back to the early 20th century and extends to mid-century, when biology, research, and clinical understanding coalesced around the vexing issue of the body’s immune response. By 1961, the authors note, microbiologist F. Macfarlane Burnet wrote of the “acute interest” in disease that results “from a misdirected immunologic attack on some of the body’s own components.” Patients had no name for their frightening, chronic ailments, yet their voices were soon heard. Writer Flannery O’Connor observed of her lupus, “it comes and goes, when it comes I retire and when it goes, I venture forth,” and one woman described her multiple sclerosis as “sporadically... in its infestations, a disgusting disease.” Today, despite greater understanding, O’Connor would find little changed in the management of lupus, the authors say. Similar troubles persist in dealing with MS and diabetes. Anderson and Mackay’s engaging survey is a studious examination of autoimmune diseases, and a humble admission that their cures remains stubbornly elusive. [em](Nov.) [/em]