Autoimmune systemic diseases of connective tissue lead to acute inflammatory processes in entire body systems. This is due to the erroneous attack of immune cells on their own healthy tissues, primarily connective tissue, which is part of all organs, whether it is cartilage and bones or the walls of blood vessels. Innovative methods of treating autoimmune diseases, which are widely used in clinics in Israel, help to stop the inflammatory process, achieve a stable remission and significantly extend the life of patients.
Risk factors
Systemic connective tissue diseases in most cases occur due to genetic disorders in the immune system and other risk factors.
- Previous viral and bacterial infections.
- Severe intoxication of the body with food, industrial or medicinal toxins.
- Excessive tanning (natural under the sun and artificial in tanning salons).
- Hormonal disorders, including at puberty, during pregnancy and menopause.
Types, causes, and symptoms of systemic connective tissue diseases
There are more than a dozen types of systemic connective tissue diseases, the most common of which are lupus erythematosus, scleroderma and vasculitis.
| Disease | Causes | Symptoms |
| Lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease of healthy tissues of the skin, joints, blood vessels and internal organs | Viral infections, heredity, allergies, stress. More often young women 15-40 years old. | Redness on the cheeks and nose. Ring-shaped redness areas on the body. Redness on the chest. Muscle and joint pain. |
| Scleroderma – hardening and thickening of connective tissue | Viruses, genetic disorders of the immune system, injuries and hypothermia. Often women 30-40 years old | Pain in the hands and impaired blood supply. Thickness areas appear on the hands and face. Face loses facial expressions and looks like a mask. Limited joint mobility. Shortness of breath and swelling in the legs due to heart damage. Digestive disorders. |
| Vasculitis is a disease in which the body’s own immune cells attack the walls of blood vessels. | Past and chronic infectious diseases, allergies, vaccines. Children under 15 years old and elderly people are affected more often | Itchy rash on the legs. Small dots with subcutaneous hemorrhages. Joint pain. Abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, intestinal bleeding. Reddish tint of urine. DIC syndrome with multiple thromboses and bleeding. Body temperature 38-39°C |
Diagnostics
Israeli clinics use a multidisciplinary, integrated approach to the diagnosis of systemic connective tissue diseases. Thanks to this, Israeli doctors manage not only to slow down the destruction of healthy cells and improve the patient’s quality of life, but also to achieve a stable remission.
- Laboratory blood test.
- Biopsy if skin symptoms are present.
- Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography (CT, MRI, and PET).
- Ultrasound examination of internal organs to rule out pathologies in them.
- Radiography of joints.
Treatment of systemic connective tissue diseases in Israel
- Drug therapy with the latest generation of drugs (anti-inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressants, etc.).
- Biotherapy. Israeli clinics were among the first in the world to use innovative drugs based on monoclonal antibodies that stop autoimmune destruction of connective tissue.
- Stem cell therapy. This is another innovation that has been successfully implemented in the treatment protocol for systemic connective tissue diseases in Israel.
- Extracorporeal therapy is the purification of blood outside the body from pathogenic substances. Israeli clinics actively use innovative methods of extracorporeal blood purification: immunosorption (selective removal of one specific component), hemosorption (purification of blood from toxins), cryoapheresis and plasmapheresis.
Israel has become a world leader in the autoimmune systemic diseases treatment effectiveness due to the constant implementation of innovations, state-of-the-art medical and diagnostic equipment, as well as highly qualified Israeli immunologists, rheumatologists and other specialists. This made our country a global center of medical tourism for patients with autoimmune diseases from all over the world.