working together to conquer lupus

About Lupus

Working Together To Conquer Lupus

Do you know lupus is an autoimmune disease that strikes more than 50,000 Canadians?

With lupus, the immune system can attack any organ in the body and if left untreated, it can be fatal.

Symptoms include extreme fatigue, fever, skin rashes, sun sensitivity, or persistent flu-like symptoms with blood abnormalities.

Lupus often goes undetected. If in doubt, ask your doctor to run an ANA test.

What is Lupus?

Lupus is a chronic disease with a variety of symptoms caused by inflammation in one or more parts of the body. It is estimated that it affects more than 50,000 Canadians.

Lupus is not contagious and is not related to AIDS or cancer. It belongs in the family of diseases that includes rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes, and scleroderma.

The most common type of lupus is SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus). It is a complex and baffling condition that can target any tissue or organ of the body, including skin, muscles, joints, blood and blood vessels, lungs, heart, kidneys, and the brain.

There are other types of lupus, which mainly affect the skin; A few individuals develop drug-induced lupus as a response to some medications used to treat other conditions. These symptoms disappear when the person stops taking the medication.

Who Gets Lupus?

Anyone can: men, women, and children. Between the ages of 15 and 45, eight times more women than men get lupus. In those under 15 or over 45, both sexes are affected equally.

What Causes Lupus?

No one knows for sure. What we do know is that, in lupus, the immune system (the body's defense against viruses and bacteria) is unable to tell the difference between intruders and the body's own tissues. Trying to do its job, it attacks parts of the body, causing inflammation and creating the symptoms of lupus.

Because it occurs most often in women of childbearing age, it seems evident that there is a link between lupus and some hormones, but how this works remains uncertain. It also appears that inherited factors may make certain people more likely to develop lupus, but these also are not clear yet.

Until science fully understands how the immune system works, the specific cause of lupus remains unknown.

What Are The Symptoms?

Some people will have only a few of the many possible symptoms. Because it can target any of the body's tissues, lupus is often heard to pin down or diagnose. That's why it is called "the disease with 1000 faces".

Before symptoms specific to lupus occur, flu-like symptoms may appear, along with severe fatigue, a sudden unexplained loss or gain in weight, headaches, hair loss, hives, high blood pressure, or changes in the colour of fingers in the cold.

· A person with lupus may experience:

· Joint pain, sometimes with swelling, redness and heat

· A red rash across upper cheeks and bridge of the nose

· Extreme fatigue

· An unusual reaction to sunlight

· A red scaly rash

· Small, usually painless sores inside nose or mouth

· Chest pain, worse when lying down or inhaling

· Swelling of feet and legs, weight gain

· Seizures or severe psychological symptoms

· Abnormalities in blood chemistry which show up in blood tests.

This is far from a compete list of symptoms, and the diagnosis of lupus must be made by a doctor.

What About Treatment For Lupus?

While there is no cure yet, with treatment, most people with lupus can look forward to a normal life expectancy. The treatment plan will depend on part on the type and severity of symptoms.

There are many medications that can do the job. Medications may have side effects, and, in combination, some drugs can interact to produce unexpected reactions. Both doctor and patient need to be aware of these possibilities and watch for them.