Auto-Immune Disease: At War With Our Own Bodies

Fifty or 100 years ago, infectious diseases such as polio, small pox and tuberculosis killed, disabled, and disfigured millions of Americans. But antibiotics, vaccines, and better hygiene have lead to a healthier nation. The problem: now autoimmune diseases and allergies are on the rise. Asthma, food allergies, and diseases such as lupus cause discomfort, pain and death. All are on the rise. Is this because our immune systems, deprived of outside attackers, are turning on our own bodies? Larry talks with Dr. Haig Tcheurekdjian, Assistant Clinical Professor at the Department of Medicine and Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University, and an Associate at Allergy Immunology Associates, Incorporated, and Dr. Stanley Fineman, Asthma and Allergy specialist, at Atlanta Allergy Clinic about this disturbing trend.