You might have heard someone mention that they have lupus, but you might very well not know much about this autoimmune disorder which affects more than a million Americans. In general, there are no real cures for lupus as well as many other autoimmune diseases. These days, there are many helpful medications that can help make this disease much more manageable.
Our immune system is a form of self defense, keeping viruses and infections from making us sick. When you are afflicted with an autoimmune disease, your immune system begins to attack the body itself. So instead of attacking harmful viruses, when you have lupus, your immune system starts attacking your previously healthy tissues.
Lupus appears in several different forms, two of which are generally less serious. Neonatal lupus occurs sometimes when a child is born to a mother who has lupus, but the symptoms usually go away in a matter of weeks. Chronic use of certain types of heart medicine can cause a form of drug-induced lupus, but this too often goes away once the person discontinues the particular drug. Discoid lupus is another form of lupus, and one that typically affects only the skin, although it can be painful and causes scarring. Systemic lupus is the fourth type and it can affect many different areas of the body.
Systemic lupus is by far the most common, and 90 percent of those diagnosed are women. This is a very difficult disease to diagnose because symptoms often come and go, and because the symptoms mimic many other diseases. One common marker of lupus is a butterfly rash on the face, but this appears on only about half of those who have the disease. In general, those afflicted suffer from joint pain, fever, extreme fatigue, swollen glands, chest pain and mouth sores. You can even suffer from depression, problems with memory and seizures, and lupus can cause repeated miscarriages. The severity of symptoms and the combination of symptoms can be different from person to person.
People with lupus are also much more likely to suffer from several other types of diseases. The risk of cardiovascular disease is higher, as is the risk of cancer, osteoporosis and many types of infections. Once diagnosed with lupus, a person is encouraged to be screened carefully for heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer, as a source of preventative care.
While lupus can cause great discomfort and sometimes even death, most people with lupus can expect to have a normal life expectancy, and available treatments can be a great help to managing symptoms. Corticosteroids are often used to treat lupus, as are anti-inflammatory medicines that do not contain steroids. Monoclonal antibody therapy also is used sometimes to treat systemic lupus, especially with the drug belimumab, which prevents the immune response that causes the disease.
Our immune system is a form of self defense, keeping viruses and infections from making us sick. When you are afflicted with an autoimmune disease, your immune system begins to attack the body itself. So instead of attacking harmful viruses, when you have lupus, your immune system starts attacking your previously healthy tissues.
Lupus appears in several different forms, two of which are generally less serious. Neonatal lupus occurs sometimes when a child is born to a mother who has lupus, but the symptoms usually go away in a matter of weeks. Chronic use of certain types of heart medicine can cause a form of drug-induced lupus, but this too often goes away once the person discontinues the particular drug. Discoid lupus is another form of lupus, and one that typically affects only the skin, although it can be painful and causes scarring. Systemic lupus is the fourth type and it can affect many different areas of the body.
Systemic lupus is by far the most common, and 90 percent of those diagnosed are women. This is a very difficult disease to diagnose because symptoms often come and go, and because the symptoms mimic many other diseases. One common marker of lupus is a butterfly rash on the face, but this appears on only about half of those who have the disease. In general, those afflicted suffer from joint pain, fever, extreme fatigue, swollen glands, chest pain and mouth sores. You can even suffer from depression, problems with memory and seizures, and lupus can cause repeated miscarriages. The severity of symptoms and the combination of symptoms can be different from person to person.
People with lupus are also much more likely to suffer from several other types of diseases. The risk of cardiovascular disease is higher, as is the risk of cancer, osteoporosis and many types of infections. Once diagnosed with lupus, a person is encouraged to be screened carefully for heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer, as a source of preventative care.
While lupus can cause great discomfort and sometimes even death, most people with lupus can expect to have a normal life expectancy, and available treatments can be a great help to managing symptoms. Corticosteroids are often used to treat lupus, as are anti-inflammatory medicines that do not contain steroids. Monoclonal antibody therapy also is used sometimes to treat systemic lupus, especially with the drug belimumab, which prevents the immune response that causes the disease.
About the Author:
Armand Zeiders enjoys writing about biomedical research. For more information about custom monoclonal antibody production service, or to find a company offering custom peptide synthesis, please go to the PrimmBiotech.com site now.
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