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Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease which causes inflammation of various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, blood and kidneys. The body's immune system normally makes proteins called antibodies to protect the body against viruses, bacteria and other foreign materials. These foreign materials are called ANTIGENS. In an autoimmune disorder such as Lupus, the immune system loses its ability to tell the difference between foreign substances (antigens) and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against "self. " These antibodies, called "auto-antibodies" react with the "self" antigens to form immune complexes. The immune complexes build up in the tissues and cause inflammation, injury to tissues, and pain.
More people have Lupus than AIDS, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, sickle-cell anemia, and cyclic fibrosis combined. Lupus Foundation of America market research data show that between 1. 4 and 2 MILLION people reported to have been diagnosed with Lupus. For most people, Lupus in a mild disease affecting only a few organs, but for others, it can be serious, or even life threatening. "Lupus" is Latin for the word "wolf, " and it is common medical lore that the "butterfly rash" seen on the cheeks of many Lupus patients is so similar to the markings of a wolf. The medical name for the disease that we know of as Lupus-Lupus Erythmatosus-was first applied to a skin disorder by a French, Pierre Cazenave, in 1851, though descriptive articles detailing the condition date back to Hippocrates in ancient greece. Lupus is often called a woman's disease despite the fact that men can be affected as well. Lupus can occur, at any age, in any sex, although it occurs 10 - 15 times more frequently among adult females than adult males.
The symptoms of the disease are the same in men and in women. Lupus is a chronic inflammatory condition caused by an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses which occur when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. The immune system is a complex organization within the body that is designed normally to fight infections and other foreign invaders. Patients with lupus have unusual antibodies in their blood that target their own body tissues.
Lupus can cause disease of the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints, and nervous system. When only the skin is involved, the condition is called discoid lupus. When internal organs are involved, the condition is called systemic lupus erythematosus. Both discoid and systemic lupus are more common in women than men (about eight times more). The disease can affect all ages, but most commonly begins from age 20 to 45 years. It is more frequent in African-Americans and people of Chinese and Japanese descent.
Factors which activate autoimmune disturbances that cause lupus are not known. Genetics, viruses, ultraviolet light, and drugs may all play some role. Genetic factors increase the tendency of developing autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroid disorders are more common among relatives of patients with lupus than the general population. Some scientists postulate that the immune system in lupus patients is more easily activated by external factors like viruses or ultraviolet light. Sometimes, symptoms of lupus can be precipitated or aggravated by only a brief period of sun exposure.
Certain medications used in treating high blood pressure (such as hydrazine), abnormal heart rhythms (such as procainamide), and epilepsy (such as phenytoin) have been known to activate immune systems and cause lupus. Fortunately, this "drug-induced" lupus is infrequent (less than 5 %) and usually resolves when the medications are discontinued. It is also known that women patients with systemic lupus not infrequently experience worsening of symptoms prior to their menstrual periods. This phenomenon, together with the female predominance of those with the disease, suggest that female hormones play an integral role in the expression of systemic lupus.
This hormonal relationship is an active area of ongoing study by research scientists. In discoid lupus, only the skin is involved. Over time, 5 to 10 % of patients with discoid lupus may develop systemic lupus. The skin involvement in discoid lupus is often found on the face and scalp. It is usually red, may have raised borders, and can scar. Discoid lupus skin rashes are usually painless and do not itch, but scarring of discoid skin lesions can cause permanent hair loss.
Patients with systemic lupus can develop different combinations of symptoms and organ involvement. Common complaints and symptoms include fatigue, low-grade fever, loss of appetite, muscle aches, arthritis, ulcers of the mouth and nose, facial rash ("butterfly rash"), unusual sensitivity to sunlight (photosensitivity), inflammation of the lining of the lung (pleuritic) and the heart (pericarditis), and poor circulation to the fingers and toes with cold exposure (Raynaud's phenomenon). More serious organ damage involves inflammation of the brain tissue, hepatitis, and kidney damage and failure. Certain blood cells and blood clotting factors can also be affected in systemic lupus, thereby increasing the risk of infection and bleeding. Over half of the patients with systemic lupus develop a characteristic red, flat facial rash over the bridge of the nose. Because of its shape, it is frequently referred to as the "butterfly rash" of lupus.
The rash is painless and does not itch. The facial rash, along with inflammation in other organs, can be precipitated or worsened by exposure to sunlight, a condition called photosensitivity. This photosensitivity can be accompanied by a worsening of inflammation throughout the body, called a "flare" of disease. With an increase in the activity of systemic lupus, many patients start to experience arthritis, inflammation of the lungs, kidney inflammation, and hair loss to name a few. Most systemic lupus patients will develop arthritis some time during the course of their illness. Arthritis in systemic lupus commonly involves swelling, pain, stiffness, and even deformity of the small joints of the hands, wrists, and feet.
Sometimes, arthritis of systemic lupus can mimic that of rheumatoid arthritis (another autoimmune disease). Inflammation of the lining of the lungs (pleuritic) and of the heart (pericarditis) can cause sharp chest pain. The chest pain is aggravated by coughing, deep breathing, and certain changes in body posture. Kidney inflammation in systemic lupus can cause leakage of protein in the urine, fluid retention, high blood pressure, and even kidney failure.
With kidney failure, machines are needed to cleanse the blood of accumulated poisons in a process called dialysis. Brain tissue involvement can cause personality changes, thought disorders (psychosis), seizures, and even coma. Damage to nerves can cause numbness, tingling, and weakness of the involved body parts or extremities. Some patients with systemic lupus have Raynaud's phenomenon. In these patients, blood supply to the fingers and toes becomes interrupted upon cold exposure, causing blanching, bluish discoloration, and pain in the exposed fingers and toes. Since patients with systemic lupus can have a wide variety of symptoms and different combinations of organ involvement, no single test establishes the diagnosis of systemic lupus.
To help doctors improve the accuracy and confidence in the diagnosis of systemic lupus, eleven criteria were established by the American Rheumatism Association. These e...
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Research essay sample on High Blood Pressure Systemic Lupus
