IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT LUPUS 

 

Definition of Lupus

 

 

• Lupus is a chronic (lifelong) autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and tissue damage to virtually every soft tissue and organ system in the body. It affects the skin, joints, blood cells, blood vessels, heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, eyes, gums and nerves.  
• The health effects of lupus range from mild to life-threatening and the disease vacillates between periods of increased activity, called flares, and periods of remission. 
• Lupus can be particularly difficult to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to those of many other illnesses, and major gaps exist in understanding the causes and consequences of lupus. More than half of all people with lupus suffer four or more years and visit three or more doctors before obtaining a correct diagnosis. 
• There is an urgent need to educate patients and health care providers to achieve earlier and more accurate diagnosis – and improved management – of lupus to reduce and prevent its adverse effects, particularly among those communities most severely affected. 

 

Statistics and Demographics

 

• Approximately 2 million Americans, an estimated ratio of 1 in every 150, have been diagnosed with lupus. Currently, more than five million individuals worldwide have a form of lupus. 
• Ninety percent of the people with lupus are women. Eight of ten new cases of lupus develop among women of childbearing age; however, women of all ages as well as men and children can develop the disease. 
• Lupus is two to three times more common among African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Asians – a disparity that remains unexplained. 
• There have been no new drugs or a specific blood test approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration specifically for lupus in nearly 50 years; current treatments for the disease can lead to damaging side effects such as kidney failure, heart disease and more. 
• There are approximately 13,500 people in Nevada who have been diagnosed with lupus. 
• Lupus affects more than 3,000 individuals per Congressional District. 
• Nationwide, approximately 16,000 people are diagnosed with lupus each month. 
• The average annual cost to provide health care for a case of lupus ranges from $6,000 to $10,000, which translates to an estimated $8 billion annually for medical care, disability claims and lost work hours. 

 

Causes of Lupus

 

 

• Researchers do not know the exact causes of lupus. However, lupus is NOT infectious, rare or cancerous. 
• While researchers believe there is a genetic predisposition to the disease, it is known that certain environmental factors also play a role in triggering lupus. Environmental factors include: infections, antibiotics, ultraviolet light, extreme stress, certain drugs, and hormones. Hormonal factors may explain why lupus occurs more frequently in females than in males. 
• The immune system normally makes proteins called antibodies to protect the body against viruses, bacteria, and other foreign materials. In lupus, the immune system loses its ability to tell the difference between foreign substances and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against “self”.

 

 

TYPES OF LUPUS

 

There are four (4) types of lupus:discoid, systemic, drug-induced and neonatal lupus. 

 

Discoid (cutaneous) lupus is always limited to the skin. It is identified by a rash that may appear on the face, neck and scalp. Discoid lupus is diagnosed by examining a biopsy of the rash. In discoid lupus the biopsy will show abnormalities that are not found in skin without the rash. Discoid lupus does not generally involve the body’s internal organs. Therefore, the ANA test may be negative in patients with discoid lupus. However, in a large number of patients with discoid lupus, the ANA test is positive, but at a low level or “titer”. 

 

In approximately 10 percent of patients, discoid lupus can evolve into the systemic form of the disease, which can affect almost any organ or system of the body.This cannot be predicted or prevented.Treatment of discoid lupus will not prevent its progression to the systemic form.Individuals who progress to the systemic form probably had systemic lupus at the outset, with the discoid rash as their main symptom. 

 

Systemic lupus is usually more severe than discoid lupus, and can affect almost any soft tissues or organ system of the body. For some people, only the skin and joints will be involved. In others, the joints, lungs, kidneys, blood, or other organs and/or tissues may be affected. Generally, no two people with systemic lupus will have identical symptoms. Systemic lupus may include periods in which few, if any, symptoms are evident (“remission”) and other times when the disease becomes more active (“flare”). Most often when people mention “lupus”, they are referring to the systemic form of the disease. 

 

Drug-induced lupus occurs after the use of certain prescribed drugs. The symptoms of drug-induced lupus are similar to those of systemic lupus. The drugs most commonly connected with drug-induced lupus are hydralazine (used to treat high blood pressure or hypertension) and procainamide (used to treat irregular heart rhythms). Drug-induced lupus is more common in men who are given these drugs more often. However, not everyone who takes these drugs will develop drug-induced lupus. Only about 4 percent of the people who take these drugs will develop the antibodies suggestive of lupus. Of those 4 percent, only an extremely small number will develop overt drug-induced lupus. The symptoms usually fade when the medications are discontinued. 

 

Neonatal lupus is a rare condition acquired from the passage of maternal auto-antibodies, specifically anti-Ro/SSA or anti-La/SSB, which can affect the skin, heart and blood of the fetus and newborn. It is associated with a rash that appears within the first several weeks of life and may persist for about six months before disappearing. Congenital heart block is much less common than the skin rash. Neonatal lupus is not systemic lupus.