What is lupus?

Answer 1

Lupus is a condition of chronic inflammation caused by an 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. One of the mechanisms that the immune system uses to fight infections is the production of antibodies. Patients with lupus produce abnormal antibodies in their blood that target tissues within their own body rather than foreign infectious agents. Because the antibodies and accompanying cells of inflammation can involve tissues anywhere in the body, lupus has the potential to affect a variety of areas of the body. Sometimes lupus can cause disease of the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints, and/or 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 (SLE).

Both discoid and systemic lupus are more common in women than men (about eight times more common). 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.

Answer 2

What Is Lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune (AW-toe-ih-MYOON) disease. Your body’s immune system is like an army with hundreds of soldiers. The immune system’s job is to fight foreign substances in the body, like germs and viruses. But in autoimmune diseases, the immune system is out of control. It attacks healthy tissues, not germs.

You can’t catch lupus from another person. It isn’t cancer, and it isn’t related to AIDS.

Lupus is a disease that can affect many parts of the body. Everyone reacts differently. One person with lupus may have swollen knees and fever. Another person may be tired all the time or have kidney trouble. Someone else may have rashes. Lupus can involve the joints, the skin, the kidneys, the lungs, the heart and/or the brain. If you have lupus, it may affect two or three parts of your body. Usually, one person doesn’t have all the possible symptoms.

There are three main types of lupus:

Systemic lupus erythematosus (eh-RITH-eh-muh-TOE-sus) is the most common form. It’s sometimes called SLE, or just lupus. The word “systemic” means that the disease can involve many parts of the body such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain. SLE symptoms can be mild or serious.

Discoid lupus erythematosus mainly affects the skin. A red rash may appear, or the skin on the face, scalp, or elsewhere may change color.

Drug-induced lupus is triggered by a few medicines. It’s like SLE, but symptoms are usually milder. Most of the time, the disease goes away when the medicine is stopped. More men develop drug-induced lupus because the drugs that cause it, hydralazine and procainamide, are used to treat heart conditions that are more common in men.


What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Lupus?

Lupus may be hard to diagnose. It’s often mistaken for other diseases. For this reason, lupus has been called the “great imitator.” The signs of lupus differ from person to person. Some people have just a few signs; others have more.

Common signs of lupus are:

Red rash or color change on the face, often in the shape of a butterfly across the nose and cheeks

Painful or swollen joints

Unexplained fever

Chest pain with deep breathing

Swollen glands

Extreme fatigue (feeling tired all the time)

Unusual hair loss (mainly on the scalp)

Pale or purple fingers or toes from cold or stress

Sensitivity to the sun

Low blood count

Depression, trouble thinking, and/or memory problems

Other signs are mouth sores, unexplained seizures (convulsions), “seeing things” (hallucinations), repeated miscarriages, and unexplained kidney problems.

Answer 3

Actually most of the people who anwered this question are somewhat incorrect. Lupus is not an inflammatory disease. It is an autoimmune disease which causes inflamation. There is a distinct difference between the two. An inflammatory disease such as RA (rheumatoid arthritis) only affects specific areas such as joints. However, SLE, or Systemic Lupus can affect the entire body including joints and internal organs. Lupus does cause swollen and painful joints in most suffers and can also damage the kidneys, liver, heart and brain. So inflammation is a symptom of the disease not the actual disease itself. People with Lupus have an overactive immune system, one which kills the good cells as well as the bad ones. This causes inflammation. It is also why people with Lupus are considered immunocompromised, in otherwords they are more suceptable to getting illnesses. (one would think that with an overactive immune system you'd never get sick but this isn't the case because too many of the good white cells are damaged). Anyway, I hope this helps...if you're still interested there are many many websites that will give you much more detailed info on Lupus

Answer 4

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect 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 can cause inflammation, injury to tissues, and pain.

Answer 5

Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE) is a chronic disease that can cause inflammation, pain, and tissue damage throughout the body. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, in which a person's immune system attacks its own tissues as though they were foreign substances. If you develop serious lupus, you may have problems with your kidneys, heart, lungs, or blood cells.

Although some people with lupus have mild symptoms, the disease can become severe. For most people, ongoing monitoring and treatment can control symptoms and prevent serious organ damage.

There are five types of lupus erythematosus: systemic, discoid/cutaneous, subacute cutaneous, drug-induced systemic, and neonatal. This topic focuses on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the most common and serious type of lupus.

What are lupus symptoms like?

Lupus symptoms vary widely, and they come and go. Common symptoms are fatigue, joint pain or swelling (arthritis), fever, and skin rash (especially with sun exposure). Mouth sores and hair loss may occur. Over time, people with lupus develop nervous system symptoms, most commonly migraine headaches. Periods of time when symptoms worsen are called relapses or flares. Periods of time when symptoms improve are called remissions. Lupus symptoms rarely disappear completely.

What causes lupus?

Lupus has no single known cause. Experts believe that a combination of factors affect the immune system and trigger a reaction that causes lupus. These factors may be environmental, such as infections or hormones, or may be inherited. A person may be born with a certain genetic makeup that affects how the immune system functions or makes him or her at risk for lupus.

How is lupus diagnosed?

Lupus can take a long time to diagnose because there is no single definitive test for lupus. A diagnosis of lupus is based on a combination of signs, symptoms, and blood tests. It is easiest to diagnose lupus if you have typical symptoms and your blood tests positive for certain proteins called antinuclear antibodies, or ANA. A positive ANA suggests possible autoimmune disease, but by itself does not confirm a diagnosis of lupus.

How is lupus treated?

There is no known cure for lupus. You can control mild to moderate lupus symptoms with proper self-care, such as appropriate rest, exercise, and avoiding sun exposure. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or antimalarial medications can also help manage symptoms.

Answer 6

SLE or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is a general inflammatory disease of connective tissue caused by a disturbance of the immune mechanisms with autoimmune processes and the formation of immune complexes.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

"Lupus is an autoimmune (AW-toe-ih-MYOON) disease. Your body’s immune system is like an army with hundreds of soldiers. The immune system’s job is to fight foreign substances in the body, like germs and viruses. But in autoimmune diseases, the immune system is out of control. It attacks healthy tissues, not germs."
go to the link to read more

Answer 9

it is a hereditary disease of the blood and it is very painful and it effects the skin as well.rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that effects joints and muscles and a person with it can't be around anyone who is sick.

Answer 10

Lupus is Latin for "wolf".