Autoimmune Diseases Association (aka) American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association 22100 Gratiot Avenue East Detroit,  MI  48021 Phone: 888 856-9433 Email:  aarda@aarda.org Web Site: http://www.aarda.org Make A Donation Add to Donation Basket Donate Your Vehicle     Autoimmunity causes Lupus, Arthritis, Celiac, MS, Fibromyalgia, Graves', Thyroiditis and 90+ other diseases. Through research and patient services, our work eases the suffering they inflict.   The broad topics of research, education, and service programs get the headlines, but a better snapshot of AARDA can be told through those who call on us. Some examples: The young woman, recently diagnosed with the autoimmune disease "lupus" who came to us pregnant and despondent. In questioning her, we discovered a history of miscarriages and suggested she be tested for antiphospholipid syndrome (a little known, but treatable, autoimmune disease that can cause fetal loss). It led to her first successful full-term baby. The day we intervened for the distraught family of a nine-year-old who was going blind from uveitis (an autoimmune eye disease) by getting him into a research program at the National Institutes of Health. The 18-year-old girl with acute vasculitis, but without the underlying disease diagnosis needed to properly treat it. We uncovered a family history of "lupus," "CFS," "Graves' disease" and Type I Diabetes, and spotted the necessary puzzle pieces that led to a diagnosis of "Wegener's" disease. She's now getting appropriate treatment and leading a near normal life again.