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Pat’s Fund focuses on increasing awareness and understanding of autoimmune diseases and raising funds for research. The connection between the more than 80 autoimmune diseases that affect 1 in 5 people is slow to gain understanding with the general public. However, research is blazing ahead on such diseases as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Scleroderma and Type 1 Diabetes (Juvenile), as well as the many others.

An autoimmune disease is a situation developed by the body’s own immune system when it misfires, mistakenly attacking healthy tissue within the body.

Watch Video: A3 A New Opportunity for those Living with Autoimmunity

Pat’s Fund supports:

Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason



Greater NW Chapter: National MS Society

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What is Autoimmunity?

When a virus or other germs attack your body your immune system defends you. It is designed to seek and destroy the invaders. However, at times the same process can harm you. Immune cells can mistake your healthy tissue and cause and autoimmune response that can affect many parts of your body. The result is called autoimmunity or self-immunity and develops into one or more autoimmune diseases. No one knows why the immune system sometimes attacks healthy cells. We do know that autoimmune diseases cannot be caught from other people.

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