Anti-double stranded DNA antibody (anti-dsDNA) is one of a group of autoantibodies called antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Normally, antibodies protect against infection, but autoantibodies are produced when a person's immune system fails to adequately distinguish between self and non-self.
Bill is a 16-year-old from New Jersey, and he is one of nine students at an unusual school here - the Deck House. It was founded in 1979 by Edward T. Hall, former headmaster at two prestigious preparatory schools, the Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., and St. Mark's School in Southborough, Mass.
These days the town is a little quieter but still has the feel of a village in the 1800s with many of the town's few small shops dating back to convict times. Of interest is the Old Schoolhouse, a huge two-storey structure built by convict stonemasons in 1858. It was originally constructed so that the Headmaster lived in the room above the central staircase and the children, according to their sex, entered the school from different doors.