Autoimmune Disease - Mrs Morley and Millie - Speaker - Jim Weston

At this week’s meeting we had a talk by Dr Jim Weston who has been involved in the development of diagnostic testing for autoimmune diseases, of which there are over 100. Diseases such as lupus, Crohn’s and rheumatoid arthritis. All such diseases are the result of the immune system accidentally attacking your own body. The title of Jim’s talk was “Mrs Morley and Millie”. Mrs Morley was Sarah Churchill’s name for Queen Anne and it is now thought that Anne suffered from lupus, showing classic signs such as facial skin abnormalities. Of her 17 pregnancies only 5 produced live births, still births and miscarriages accounting for the others. Of the live births, not one lived beyond 11 years. It is now known there can be a hereditary component to autoimmune disease, which could be a contributing factor to their early demise. With no Stuart heir, the door was open to the Hanoverian Georges. Jim pointed out that women were far more likely to suffer from autoimmune disorders than men. Millie was the name of the spaniel belonging to President George Bush Senior and his wife Barbara. Both Bushes suffered from the autoimmune Graves’ Disease. Surprisingly, their spaniel Millie also suffered from an autoimmune disorder. It seems that breeds such as spaniels and Alsatians are particularly susceptible to such disorders. After a flurry of questions at the end, David Sandford gave a vote of thanks for such an entertaining and informative evening.