Autoimmune Life Blog

Lauren Lippincott is not yet 35 years old, yet she lives with five autoimmune diseases. She’s not alone. About 25 percent of people with autoimmune diseases have a tendency to develop additional autoimmune diseases.

The Morris family was celebrating Christmas when they realized their nine-year-old son Jordan needed to go to the doctor. Recently he was losing weight, urinating often, extremely thirsty and exhausted. His mother, Leslie Morris, a nurse, suspected type 1 diabetes (T1D).

For most people, the onset of type 1 diabetes (T1D) seems to occur suddenly, often resulting in a trip to the emergency room with life-threatening complications.

In March of 2015, 13-year-old Lizzie Blockhus experienced a week of being very tired and not feeling well. “I woke up in the middle of night and was dying of thirst,” she explains. “Then I was at my sister’s soccer game, dying of thirst again and I knew something wasn’t right.

This research update is on a variety of studies that BRI is conducting or collaborating on with other institutions. They are tackling various scientific and immunologic questions that explore innovative ways to fight MS from the lab to clinical studies.

Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) is relatively small compared to large research universities, but its impact goes well beyond its size and location, accelerating scientific discovery globally.

Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) has been awarded another leadership role in type 1 diabetes research. Carla Greenbaum, MD, BRI’s director of the Diabetes Research Program and Clinical Research Center, has been named chair of Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet.

Biomarkers are key tools for scientists studying autoimmune and other diseases. A biomarker is a measurable characteristic that reflects a normal biological process or disease state.

One of the nation’s greatest research treasures was developed at Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) and is being enhanced every day. The treasure is more than 100,000 blood and tissue samples contained within huge freezers.