What is lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body attacks its own tissues and organs. Oftentimes, the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, nervous system, skin, blood cells and joints are affected when the body creates antibodies, also called autoantibodies, to attack these parts of the body.

The autoantibodies can cause damage, including pain and inflammation, throughout the body. Lupus is characterized by flares and remissions, so a person with lupus could see varying degrees of symptom severity over time.

Although the cause of most cases of lupus is unknown, it is believed that environmental triggers, such as exposure to sunlight, certain medications or developing infections can cause lupus. The disease is more common in women; in African American, Hispanic and Asian women; and in people between the ages of 15 years and 40 years.

The most common symptom of lupus is a rash on the face that looks like the wings of a butterfly on a person’s cheeks in about one-fourth of patients with lupus. However, lupus can be difficult to diagnose as many of its symptoms are similar to those of other diseases. These symptoms can include fever, headaches, memory loss, fatigue, joint pain or stiffness, swelling in the extremities, shortness of breath, hair loss, chest pain, skin lesions, dry eyes, headaches, and fingers and/or toes that turn white in stressful situations.

To make a diagnosis of lupus, your doctor will have to take your symptoms into consideration. He or she may run blood counts, blood tests that measure your erythrocyte sedimentation rate, take an antinuclear antibody test, or take samples of your urine to look for increased protein rates or red blood cells. He or she may also take chest X-rays or perform an echocardiogram to check for inflammation and heart issues, respectively.

However, there are challenges to your doctor making a diagnosis of lupus. For example, laboratory tests may be inconclusive or yield false-positives one day, but be accurate the next. Results from tests at one laboratory may differ from results at another laboratory.

There is no cure for lupus, but medications, such as NSAIDs, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressant drugs in more serious cases, can improve symptoms. The goal with these medications is to reduce pain and inflammation, as well as to suppress the immune system. It also is important to get proper rest, eat healthy, exercise regularly, avoid smoking and go to the doctor on a regular basis if you have lupus to reduce the severity of flare-ups and manage symptoms when they occur.

References:

www.lupus.org

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lupus/basics/definition/CON-20019676