Lupus
What is Lupus?
Systemic lupus erythematosus (also called SLE or lupus) is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, nervous system, and/or other organs of the body. The most common symptoms include skin rashes and arthritis, often accompanied by fatigue and fever. The clinical course of SLE varies from mild to severe, and typically involves alternating periods of remission and relapse.
This picture illustrates a malar rash which is a red rash on the cheeks and nose that is often brought out by exposure to the sun.
Lupus affects 10 times as many women as men.
Treatment depends on the type and severity of symptoms you experience.
Given its complex nature, lupus requires treatment by a rheumatologist and your own active participation in maintaining your health.
For most people, lupus is a mild disease affecting only a few organs. For others, it may cause serious and even life-threatening problems. Although epidemiological data on lupus is limited, studies suggest that more than 16,000 Americans develop lupus each year.
What causes lupus
SLE is an autoimmune disorder which develops when the body’s own immune system, which normally protects against cancers and invading infections, begins to attack the patient’s own tissues (known medically as a “loss of self-tolerance”). This occurs first through the production of “auto-antibodies” (antibodies are immune system cells that attack foreign microbes; auto-antibodies attack a person’s own cells). As the attack continues, other immune system cells join the fight. This leads to inflammation, blood vessel abnormalities (vasculitis) and deposition of immune system cells in organs which causes tissue damage.
Lupus is a disease that can lead to inflammation in multiple organs including the kidneys, the lining tissue of the heart and lungs (pleuritis and pericarditis), and the brain as well as the joints and skin.
It is not known why this inflammatory reaction begins, but it probably occurs because of some combination of inborn or hereditary predispositions and environmental factors (such as viruses, the ultraviolet rays in sunlight, Silica dust, and allergies to medications). Recent research suggests that people affected by lupus may have a defect in the normal biological process of clearing old and damaged cells from the body, which then causes an abnormal stimulation of the immune system.
The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) estimates between 1.5 – 2 million Americans have a form of lupus, but the actual number may be higher. More than 90 percent of people with lupus are women. Symptoms and diagnosis occur most often when women are in their child-bearing years, between the ages of 15 and 45.
In the United States, lupus is more common in African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans than in Caucasians.