Three people in my family diagnosed with autoimmune disease in 1 summer!

[NewtoPD24]

Early in June, my 26 yr old daughter was diagnosed with MS when she developed double vision in one eye. Later that month, I was diagnosed with Parkinsons, which can also be considered an auto-immune disease. Now my 18 year old son is being tested for Crohn's disease, another auto-immune. Can this all be related??

[park_bear]

Have there been any unusually stressful situations?

[NewtoPD24 in reply to park_bear]

Nothing other than our 13 year old dog dying from lymphoma, which was obviously very sad. Otherwise, everyone (four adult kids) seemingly healthy.

[Rufous2 in reply to NewtoPD24]

My condolences on the loss of your beloved dog. Grief for a pet can be profound, and although it didn't cause your family's conditions, the timing suggests it could have played a factor in when they were diagnosed. Not sure about the other two, but Parkinson's has a long prodromal period. Many people here have said a stressful event tipped their disease into a diagnosable state. Stress reduction is vital to controlling symptoms.

I asked ChatGPT what your family's conditions have in common, and inflammation seemed to be the most salient answer. So then I asked if a propensity for inflammation is heritable, and got this response;

"Yes, a tendency toward inflammatory diseases can be heritable. Many inflammatory conditions, including autoimmune diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn's disease, have a genetic component. Family studies and twin studies suggest that genetic factors contribute to the risk of developing these diseases.

Genetic Predisposition: Certain genes are associated with an increased risk of inflammatory diseases. For example, variations in the HLA (human leukocyte antigen) genes are linked to several autoimmune disorders.

Environmental Interactions: While genetics play a significant role, environmental factors (such as infections, diet, and lifestyle) also influence the development and severity of inflammatory diseases. The interplay between genes and environment can determine an individual's susceptibility.

Familial Clustering: Individuals with a family history of inflammatory diseases are at a higher risk of developing similar conditions, suggesting a heritable component.

Epigenetics: Changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the DNA sequence can also influence inflammatory responses and may be influenced by environmental factors, adding another layer of complexity to heritability.

Overall, while there is a hereditary tendency toward inflammatory diseases, it is shaped by a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors."

Cytokines are known to mediate the inflammatory response, so next I asked which cytokines the 3 conditions have in common and got this;

"In Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease, and Crohn's disease, several cytokines play a role in the inflammatory processes and disease progression. Common cytokines include:

Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α): This pro-inflammatory cytokine is implicated in all three conditions, promoting inflammation and contributing to neuronal damage in MS and Parkinson's, as well as intestinal inflammation in Crohn's.

Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β): This cytokine is involved in inflammatory responses and has been associated with neuroinflammation in MS and Parkinson's, as well as with intestinal inflammation in Crohn's.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6): Elevated levels of IL-6 are found in MS and Crohn's disease, and it may also play a role in neuroinflammation in Parkinson's.

Interleukin-17 (IL-17): This cytokine is particularly important in autoimmune conditions like MS and Crohn's disease, contributing to inflammation and tissue damage.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ): This cytokine is involved in immune responses and has been implicated in the pathology of MS and Crohn's disease.

Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β): Although primarily known for its role in immune regulation, TGF-β is also involved in the pathology of these diseases, promoting inflammation in certain contexts.

These cytokines contribute to the complex inflammatory landscape seen in these diseases, highlighting the shared immune mechanisms involved in their pathogenesis."

Probably more info than you wanted, but perhaps as a family you could explore diet and lifestyle changes that reduce inflammation? Good luck to all of you!

[Rufous2]

Might want to look into improving gut health too. Inflammatory bowel disease is a risk factor for Parkinson's.

academic.oup.com/braincomms...

" The gut–brain axis has been hypothesized to play a role in Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis, stimulating a growing body of work on the putative contribution of gastrointestinal dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease initiation.1,2 Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic intestinal inflammatory condition manifested by long-lasting diarrhoea, abdominal pain and bloody stool.3 Recently, a meta-analysis of nine observational studies comprising over 12 million patients demonstrated an interesting bidirectional relationship between Parkinson’s disease and IBD, where IBD as a risk factor was associated with 25–30% increase of Parkinson’s disease risk and as an outcome was 40% more likely to develop among Parkinson’s disease patients.4 A protective effect of anti-inflammatory medications on Parkinson’s disease among IBD patients was also reported by the authors.4 Together with the emerging data from subsequent epidemiological studies, these evidence converged to support a biological link between the two seemingly unrelated conditions.5,6"

"Discovery of genetic overlap between Parkinson’s disease and IBD has shed new light into the molecular underpinning shared by the two diseases. For instance, polymorphisms of the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene have been robustly associated with susceptibility to both Parkinson’s disease and Crohn’s disease, a subtype of IBD, corroborating the crucial role of the immune system in the two conditions.19,20"

If you have a 23 and me genetic report, it can tell you if you have the commonest of the LRRK2 mutations associated with Parkinson's.

[chartist]

One significant commonality of these three diseases is gut dysbiosis. FMT has shown benefit for all three which is a significant clue about a potential treatment option. Here is a link to a study suggesting that FMT helps maintain remission from Crohn's disease (CD) :

microbiomejournal.biomedcen....

Unfortunately, in the US, FMT is only approved for C. diif despite having a very good safety profile in humans over many years. FMT has also show significant benefit for PD and MS in human studies. China is more on the cutting edge of FMT and is testing it for many health issues and seems to have better availability for other health issues.

For more info on FMT, this article I wrote may interest you :

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

On a related note for your son, it may be worthwhile for him to look into the use of low dose naltrexone (LDN) as a prescription medication with an excellent safety profile that has shown significant benefit for people with CD. Here is a starting point for him :

nationalpharmacyrx.com/low-...

Here is a relevant article quote :

' A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation tested the efficacy and safety of LDN for 12 weeks in adults with active Crohn’s disease. More than twice as many patients (88%) taking LDN exhibited a 70-point decrease in CDAI scores, in contrast with only 40% of individuals in the placebo group. '

LDN has also shown some benefit for people with MS, but not all, as discussed here :

nationalmssociety.org/news-...

Here is a relevant quote from the article :

' While some of Shinto’s patients have taken LDN for years and find it very effective in managing their symptoms, others do not notice a change. And although some patients feel LDN’s effects about a week after they start taking it, others do not feel the effects until 2 to 3 months later. Shinto adds that unless there is a reason to stop taking LDN, she encourages her patients to try it for 3 months to feel the effects. The side effects of LDN can vary, but the most common side effect reported to her is vivid dreams. '

The following new research (October, 2024) discusses the gut dysbiosis seen in PD and and how that can promote disease activity and progression :

molecularneurodegeneration....

Here is a relevant quote from the research :

' We propose that the dysbiotic gut microbiome (dysbiome) in PD can disrupt a healthy microbiome and Th17 homeostatic immunity in the ileum mucosa, leading to a cascade effect that propagates to the brain, ultimately contributing to PD pathophysiology. Our landmark study has successfully identified new peripheral biomarkers that could be used to develop highly effective strategies to prevent the progression of PD into the brain. '

Art