American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association Statement on Rush Limbaugh's Hearing Loss and Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease

DETROIT, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Millions of Americans learned recently that radio commentator Rush Limbaugh has lost nearly all his hearing. Now, those millions are beginning to learn why.

A statement issued by his doctors reports that Limbaugh suffers from autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED) - one of 80 known autoimmune diseases. These diseases all have one underlying cause - autoimmunity, the process by which the body's immune system turns on itself, attacking health organs, tissues and cells.

A syndrome of progressive hearing loss and/or dizziness over a matter of weeks or months, AIED is caused by antibodies or immune cells that attack the inner ear. As with many autoimmune diseases, diagnosis is often difficult, few treatment options are available and there are no known cures, according to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA).

'Since AIED and the other autoimmune diseases all share a common cause -- autoimmunity -- one clue to finding more effective treatments, better diagnostic tools, and perhaps, even one day a cure lies in researching the diseases collectively,' said Dr. Noel Rose, chair of the AARDA's Scientific Advisory Board and professor of Pathology, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins University. 'The thinking is that a treatment or diagnostic tool developed for one disease may prove to be

Currently, the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communications Disorders of the National Institutes of Health is recruiting patients to participate in an AIED clinical research trial to determine whether prednisone, methotrexate and cyclophosphamide are effective treatments for rapidly progressive hearing loss in both ears.

Many autoimmune and connective tissue disorders have associations with sensorineural hearing loss or hearing loss caused by faulty sensory nerves. These disorders include Cogan's syndrome, Meniere's disease, Takayasu's arteritis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Behcet's disease and Sjogren's syndrome, among others.

Approximately 50 million Americans suffer from one or more autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases appear to affect more women than men; it is estimated that some 75 percent are women.

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association is the nation's only organization dedicated to bringing a national focus to autoimmunity as a category of disease and a major women's health issue, and promoting a collaborative research effort in order to find better treatments and a cure for all autoimmune diseases.

For more information, please visit AARDA's web site at www.aarda.org or call 1-888-856-9433.

SOURCE: American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association

CO: American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association