Imunodeficience – Bartůňková Jiřina (2021)

Immune disorders – whether congenital or acquired – represent a medically, socially, and economically significant issue. The rising trend in the incidence of these conditions means that practically every doctor of any specialty encounters these patients. In clinical practice, we still refer to conditions leading primarily to a disruption of one of the basic functions of immunity, namely the defense against microorganisms, as immunodeficiencies. Therefore, the most common clinical manifestation of immunodeficiency is an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases. However, it is increasingly evident that disorders of the immune system can lead to a wide variety of clinical manifestations depending on which component of immunity is affected, at what age the impairment occurs, the environment in which the patient lives, what other diseases they suffer from, how and where the gene responsible for a specific defect is disrupted, and what other genetic makeup the patient has. The book provides a general overview of the mechanisms of immunity, the basic units of congenital immunodeficiencies, and the conditions that most often lead to secondary immunodeficiencies. The book will be particularly appreciated by internists, pediatricians, and general practitioners for both children and adults.