Illustrations by Kouzou Sakai

Why Are Autoimmune Diseases on the Rise?

Changing environments, extraordinary stress, and the autoimmunity epidemic

Stacy Verdick Case was ill with a host of disparate symptoms. She suffered from joint pain, heart palpitations, and severe fatigue. Doctors tried to address her symptoms, prescribing her the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, attending to her acid reflux, or telling her to…