The immune system is responsible for defending your body against bacteria and dangerous infections. When the immune system fails to recognize and attacks its own body confusing it for foreign invades, an autoimmune disease can occur. Systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE is one among over 100 autoimmune conditions known today.
What Is Lupus?
SLE is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect almost any organ or body’s system. It follows a relapsing and remitting course causing a widespread tissue damage and inflammation. Lupus can affect lungs, skin, joints, blood cells, kidneys, brain and heart.
According to the Lupus Foundation of America, at least 1.5 million people in the United States and 5 million people worldwide are living with lupus. Each year more than 16,000 new cases of lupus are reported in the United States alone.
SLE more often affects women than men with a ratio 10 to 1. In addition women of color who have African, Hispanic or Asian descent are 2 to 3 times more likely to get lupus than white women. However, it is important to say that people of all races and ethnicities can develop lupus.
Five types of lupus have been discovered, however SLE is the most serious and common type of lupus.
Image Credit: Lupus Foundation of America
Causes
The main cause of SLE is still unknown, however there is a strong scientific evidence that it is caused by a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors.
Some of the possible triggers of SLE include infection, viruses, sunlight, and other environmental factors. Hormonal changes also play a role in SLE. That is why it is more common in young women than men. Genetic factors also make some people prone to autoimmune diseases.
Studies show that lupus patients may not be able to effectively get rid of damaged and old body cells. The result is this inflammatory reaction.
Symptoms
Symptoms of SLE may vary greatly from individual to individual depending on the bodily tissue affected. People with lupus may experience periods of flares when symptoms show up, and periods of remission when symptoms are under control.
During a lupus flare symptoms begin suddenly with fever. It is important to watch for warning signs or early lupus symptoms that help to recognize a coming lupus flare. Flares can be classified as mild, moderate, or severe depending on the severity of symptoms.
In other patients the symptoms may develop gradually over months or years. They feel unwell; suffer from frequent episodes of fever or any of the symptoms listed below. The symptoms may be minimal or absent sometimes.
-Muscle pain and swollen or painful joints
-Red rashes on the face
-Chest pain when taking deep breaths
-Sensitivity to sunlight
-Unusual hair loss
-Severe fatigue
-Swollen glands
-Mouth ulcers
-Edema or swelling in legs
-Anemia
-Blood clotting complications
-Raynaud’s syndrome (Fingers tingle and turn white or blue when cold)
Other symptoms depend on the part of the body affected by SLE such as the heart, digestive tract etc.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of lupus can be difficult and in some cases it can take many years because it is a multi-symptom disease that can affect nearly every organ system in the body. This makes lupus manifestation highly variable with some symptoms overlapping with other health conditions.
Your doctor will carry out a physical exam to check for the common signs of SLE. Since there is no single diagnostic test, screenings will help your doctor end up with an informed diagnosis. They include a lupus blood tests, lupus antibody tests, chest x-ray and urinalysis.
After your symptoms and test results evaluation doctor makes an assessment and diagnosis based on specific criteria. In 2012 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) introduced 11 diagnostic criteria for SLE that produce a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 95% for diagnosing lupus.
Treatment
Current SLE treatments offered by a conventional medicine are only aimed at easing its symptoms but not curing it. The treatment will vary depending on which parts of the body are affected and how severe is the damage of the tissue. It is recommended that you go for regular medical checkups instead of waiting for the disease to flare.
Treatments may include:
-Steroid creams for dealing with rashes
-Anti-inflammatory medications to ease stiffness and joint pains
-Varying doses of corticosteroids to reduce the immune response
-Anti malarial drugs such as hydroxychloroqiune and chloroquine are used for joint and skin problems. An eye test is recommended if these drugs are used because they can accumulate easily in the eye.
From Visually.
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