Lupus is a very serious, chronic (life-long),
inflammatory,
autoimmune disease. Autoimmune is a class of
diseases that share one characteristic, they all involve the immune
system turning against the body. Our immune systems are
designed to fight off foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses.
With autoimmune diseases like Lupus, the immune system sees normal
healthy cells as foreign invaders and attacks them. This
causes the body to respond naturally with inflammation to expel the
invader. This inflammation is what causes the pain, and
discomfort as well as sometimes permanent damage to the cells.
There are several different kinds of Lupus:
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is the form
of the disease most people are referring to when they say Lupus.
It is the most common. The word systemic means the disease
can affect the whole body including the skin, joints, tendons,
blood vessels, muscles, organs, etc. Each Lupus patient is
different some have a more mild form of SLE whole others may
have severe, life-threatening disease.
Life
Threatening Lupus is defined as SLE affecting one or more
vital organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, or liver.
Discoid
Lupus Erythematosus (DLE) is a chronic skin disorder in which a red,
raised rash appears on the face, scalp or elsewhere. The
rash may last for days or even years and it also may reoccur.
The raised areas may become thick and scaly and may cause
scarring.
Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus
(SCLE)
is skin lesions on parts of the body that are exposed to the
sun. These lesions do not cause scarring.
Drug Induced Lupus
(DIL or DILE) is a kind of Lupus that is cause by
medications. The
symptoms are similar to SLE and usually go
away after the medication is discontinued.
Lupus
in Overlap w/ other Connective Tissue Diseases is Lupus with one
of the following other diseases as well: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Polymyositis-Dermatomyositis, Scleroderma, Sjogren's Syndrome,
and various forms of Vasculitis.
Neonatal Lupus is a
form of Lupus found in newborn babies born to mothers with
Lupus, Sjogren's, or no disease at all. It is very
important that women with Lupus be closely monitored by a
physician during pregnancy. Affected infants often have a
characteristic red rash. They sometimes develop liver
disease, congenital heart block, and/or low blood platelet
counts. These symptoms typically resolve within the first
few months of life.
There is no cure for Lupus at this time. We
also do not know what causes Lupus. Genetics, drugs, hormones,
environmental factors (UV light, viruses), etc. are all possible
contributing factors to SLE. People with a family member that
has an autoimmune disease are far more likely to develop SLE than
the general population. Women are also far more likely to
develop the disease than men so hormonal factors are being studied.
One thing that researchers are sure about is that none of the
different types of Lupus are contagious.
We here at
Cure4Lupus.org believe that we need a cure for this disease, not
just more toxic treatments. We support only the
research that is aimed
directly at finding either the cause which could lead to a cure, or
for a cure itself, not just more toxic drugs.
Additional
sources:
National Library of Medicine Online Tutorial:
English or
Spanish
Lupus Foundation of America -
Introduction to Lupus
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