Information on Lupus

Lupus is a condition characterized by chronic inflammation of body tissues caused by autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses that occur when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. The immune system is a complex system within the body that is designed to fight infectious agents, for example, bacteria, and other foreign invaders.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (also called SLE, or lupus) is an autoimmune disease of the body's connective tissues. Autoimmune means that the immune system attacks the tissues of the body. In lupus, the immune system primarily attacks parts of the cell nucleus. 

If you are suffering from Lupus, something is wrong with your immune system and it attacks all the possible healthy cells and tissues within your body. This can damage the parts of the body such as follows:

There are several kinds of Lupus and the most common type includes systemic lupus erythematosus, which affects many parts of the body. The other kind of Lupus includes are as follows:

• Heart
• Skin
• Kidneys
• Brain

Lupus, also called systemic lupus erythematosus, is a chronic inflammatory condition that primarily affects the skin and joints. It can also involve other organs such as the heart, kidneys, and nervous system. Lupus is an unpredictable lifelong condition that typically affects young adults between 18 and 40 years of age. It affects about 1 in 1,000 people, and 90% of them are women.

According to the Lupus Foundation of America, approximately 1.5 million people in the U.S. have lupus. People of African, Asian and Native American descent are more likely to develop lupus than are Caucasians. Although it can occur in both men and women, 90% of people diagnosed with the disease are women. Women of childbearing age (14 to 45 years old) are most often affected—as many as 1 in 250 may develop lupus.

Lupus is an autoimmune disorder (the body is attacking itself) of the connective tissues that affects eight times more women (between the ages of 20 and 40) than men.  Among ethnic backgrounds, those of African, Native American, and Asian descent develop the condition more frequently than those of European ancestry.  Lupus can be mild such as discoid lupus (DLE), affecting exposed areas of the skin, and sometimes the joints, to life-threatening (systemic lupus erythematosis), affecting more organs of the body.

Lupus (pronounced: loo-pus) is a disease that involves the immune system and affects about 1.5 million Americans; nearly 90% of those diagnosed with the disease are female. Normally, a person's immune system works by producing immunity cells and antibodies, special substances that fight germs and infection if you have lupus, your immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues by mistake. This can damage your joints, skin, blood vessels and organs. There are many kinds of lupus. The most common type, systemic lupus erythematosus, affects many parts of the body 

While lupus is a chronic illness, it is characterized by periods when the disease activity is minimal or absent (remission) and when it is active (relapse or flare). The outlook for patients with SLE today is much better than years ago because of greater awareness and better tests leading to earlier diagnosis and treatment and more effective and safer medications.