Lupus is one of many disorders of the immune system known as
autoimmune
diseases. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system turns
against parts of the body it is designed to protect. This leads
to inflammation and damage to various body tissues. Lupus can
affect many parts of the body, including the joints, skin,
kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain. Although people
with the disease may have many different symptoms, some of the
most common ones include extreme fatigue, painful or swollen
joints (arthritis)unexplained fever, skin rashes, and kidney
problems.
At present, there is no cure for lupus. However, lupus can be
effectively treated with drugs, and most people with the disease
can lead active,
healthy lives. Lupus is characterized by periods of illness,
called flares, and periods of wellness, or remission.
Understanding how to prevent flares
and how to treat them when they do occur helps people with lupus
maintain better health. Intense research is underway, and
scientists funded by the
NIH are continuing to make great strides in understanding the
disease, which may ultimately lead to a cure.
Two of the major questions researchers are studying are who gets
lupus and why. We know that many more women than men have lupus.
Lupus is three times more common in African American women than
in Caucasian women and is also more common in women of Hispanic,
Asian, and Native American descent. In addition, lupus can run
in families, but the risk that a child or a brother
or sister of a patient will also have lupus is still quite low.
It is difficult to estimate how many people in the United States
have the disease
because its symptoms vary widely and its onset is often hard to
pinpoint.
*Information used by permission: National Institute
of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
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Lupus can be effectively treated with drugs, and most people
with the disease can lead active, healthy lives.
There are several kinds of lupus:
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is the form
of the disease that most people are referring to when they say
"lupus." The word "systemic" means the
disease can affect many parts of the body. The symptoms of SLE
may be mild or serious. Although SLE usually first affects
people between the ages of 15 and 45 years, it can occur in
childhood or later in life as well. This
booklet focuses on SLE.
SLE is thought to be a genetically complex disease.
Click
here for more information on Lupus Genetics.
Discoid lupus erythematosus is a chronic skin
disorder in which a red, raised rash appears on the face, scalp,
or elsewhere. The raised areas may
become thick and scaly and may cause scarring. The rash may last
for days or years and may recur. A small percentage of people
with discoid lupus have or develop SLE later.
Click here for more information on Discoid Lupus.
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