The autoimmune epidemic : bodies gone haywire in a world out of balance and the cutting edge science that promises hope /

*Starred Review* Raising a straight-talking alarm about what she calls a global health crisis, Nakazawa says some 23.5 million Americans one in 12 currently suffer from nearly 100 autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, Crohn's disease, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. That the figure is growing exponentially disease rates have doubled and tripled in recent decades is a puzzle scientists are trying to crack. One culprit they've pinpointed is manufacturing additives and emissions. In a particularly disturbing scenario, Nakazawa follows a fictional family through a typical day, noting each time a person ingests, inhales, or absorbs potentially toxic substances. Little wonder, then, that researchers have found an alarming cocktail of 287 industrial chemicals and pollutants in the fetal cord blood of a sampling of infants from around the country. Even long-banned substances, such as DDT, still linger in the soil in which food is grown and are showing up in people's systems. Since each industry maintains its chemicals have not been proven unsafe, scientists note that it's the combination of thousands of chemicals bombarding immune systems that is causing trouble. When that barrage meets a variety of genetic predispositions, it's not surprising so many get sick. Nakazawa's comprehensive heads-up is not all gloom, however, for she also discusses scientific studies and breakthroughs that may stem the tide and an assortment of dietary supplements and homespun preventives that may help.--Chavez, Donna Copyright 2008 Booklist

Type 1 diabetes, Crohn's disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis-all these increasingly common illnesses are autoimmune diseases in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues or nervous system. Equally alarming, as journalist Nakazawa tells us, is researchers' growing suspicion that autism may be an autoimmune disease, brought on in part by genetic predisposition, exposure of young bodies to man-made chemicals and perhaps viral triggers. Nakazawa (Does Anybody Else Look like Me?), who herself has been diagnosed with the autoimmune Guillain-Barre syndrome, tells of a lower-income Buffalo, N.Y., neighborhood where the growing number of relatively young residents with lupus led one persistent woman to discover that a lot where children played had been a dumping ground for industrial chemicals. She also chronicles the work of researchers at Johns Hopkins and other medical centers who have been able to regrow nerves using embryonic stem cells and destroy errant T cells of the immune system that have run amok. Included are suggestions for foods that may promote healthy immune response and consumer body care products to avoid. Everyone with a friend or family member with an autoimmune disease will find this a must read. (Feb. 5) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Even though autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis impact the lives of millions of Americans, few books on the subject are aimed at general readers. Journalist Nakazawa (Does Anybody Else Look Like Me?) seeks to shed light on this relatively new area of medicine, drawing on personal experience, extensive research, and interviews with medical personnel to look at what autoimmune diseases are, why they happen, and what may trigger them. Special attention is paid to the overwhelming number of seemingly harmless triggers that surround all of us every day. Readers will find practical suggestions on how to minimize susceptibility to these diseases, but the majority of the book concentrates on the scientific studies that are helping to explain autoimmunity and the recent, cutting-edge research that may one day make autoimmune diseases more predictable and more treatable. Nakazawa articulates highly complicated medical processes in extremely comprehensible language. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.-Tina Neville, Univ. of South Florida at St. Petersburg Lib. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.