November 27, 2014
autoimmune disease, children of Vietnam veterans, immunorepertoire, MEDICAL ADVANCES, medical research, military exposures, military families, veterans children
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Han is comparing the immunorepertoires of healthy and sick people to see if diseases leave certain signatures, and has found that they do. People with ailments have a severely reduced immunorepertoire compared to healthy people – their complement of antibodies is much less diverse. To use the military analogy: when there is trouble in a particular sector from a particular disease, a response must be mustered and the size of the “standing army” – the immunorepertoire – shrinks as forces are deployed. Immunodiversty plummets before people feel sick, an early warning sign that the immune system is preparing for battle. Han is hoping an assessment of one’s immunorepertoire can one day be used for diagnostic purposes.