A research team led by Dr. George Eisenbarth has identified and tested a novel antigen-specific strategy for the prevention or treatment of autoimmune diseases. In this new approach, a compound (consisting of a natural immune-system molecule tethered to an autoantigenic peptide that is implicated in the development of a particular autoimmune disease) is administered as a vaccine, causing the patient to produce an antibody which acts to inhibit or prevent autoimmune activity. Although the research group’s data relates to Type-1 diabetes, this method can be used in the treatment of any autoimmune disease that involves a T cell response, including Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, pernicious anemia, Addison's disease, chronic active hepatitis, myasthenia gravis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and lupus.