Now that we have had a glimpse of innate and adaptive immunity, we are now in a position to understand a bit about Immune Deficiency, Inflammation, Autoimmune diseases, Allergy, and Transplantation and Graft rejection – terms that we have encountered but were not able to appreciate as it was not possible to understand them in isolation.
The deficiency in the immune system may arise through intrinsic defects in immune function, most of which are genetically determined and are usually present in childhood or adolescence. However, in most cases, it is due to secondary causes like drug therapy, cancer, certain infections, and old age, among other causes.
The consequences of immune system deficiencies are mainly recurrent infections, autoimmunity, and susceptibility to malignancy. The clinical manifestation depends on the involvement of the concerned component of the immune system, but there is often a considerable....
