Lupus erythematosus

 Lupus erythematosus 

 

Lupus is a disease that occurs when your body's immune system attacks your tissues and organs (autoimmune disease). Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems—including your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and lungs.

Lupus can be challenging to diagnose because its signs and symptoms often resemble those of other conditions. The most distinctive sign of lupus—a facial rash that resembles the wings of a butterfly unfolding across both cheeks—occurs in many but not all cases of lupus.

Lupus erythematosus is a collection of autoimmune diseases in which the human immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks healthy tissues. Symptoms of these diseases can affect multiple body systems, including the joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, and lungs.

The signs and symptoms of lupus that you experience will depend on which body systems are affected by the disease. The most common signs and symptoms include: Fatigue, Fever, Joint pain, stiffness, and swelling, Butterfly-shaped rash on the face that covers the cheeks and bridge of the nose or rashes elsewhere on the body, Skin lesions that appear or worsen with sun exposure, Fingers and toes that turn white or blue when exposed to cold or during stressful periods, Shortness of breath, Chest pain. Dry eyes, Headaches, confusion, and memory loss

Symptoms vary from person to person and may come and go. Almost everyone with lupus has joint pain and swelling. Some develop arthritis. Other common symptoms include chest pain during respiration, joint pain, painless oral ulcers, fatigue, weight loss, and headaches. Skin lesions that appear worse after sun exposure, general discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling (malaise), hair loss

It is typically believed that lupus is influenced by multiple genes.

Lupus can develop in people at any age, but it does most commonly develop at ages 15 to 44, with varying results. Typically, the manifestation of the disease tends to be more acute in those of younger age. Women are more likely to get it than men. Patients with juvenile-onset lupus are more vulnerable to mucocutaneous manifestations of the disease (alopecia, skin rash, and ulceration of the mucous membranes). Patients with late-onset lupus have a much higher mortality rate. Nearly 50% of those with late-onset lupus die of their condition. Women who are of childbearing age are also particularly at risk.

Diagnosis of lupus will vary from person to person. For lupus, a lot of the symptoms may manifest as systemic disease. Lupus has many types. Of these, systemic lupus erythematosus (also known as SLE) is the most common and serious form.

Treatment—There is still no cure for lupus, but there are options to help control symptoms. Treatment consists primarily of immunosuppressive drugs. The goal for treatment is to prevent flare-ups and reduce organ damage. Treatment for lupus depends on your signs and symptoms. Determining whether you should be treated and what medications to use requires a careful discussion of the benefits and risks with your doctor.

As your signs and symptoms flare and subside, you and your doctor may find that you'll need to change medications or dosages. Doctors may prescribe a handful of different medications to help with their patients' symptoms.

1.    Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

2.    Corticosteroids

3.    Antimalarial drugs

4.    BLyS-specific inhibitors

5.    Immunosuppressive agents/chemotherapy. In addition to medical therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy has also been demonstrated to be effective in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression due to the psychological and social impacts that lupus may have. - Immunosuppressants. Drugs that suppress the immune system may be helpful in serious cases of lupus. Examples include azathioprine (Imuran, Azasan), mycophenolate (Cellcept), methotrexate (Trexall, Xatmep, others), cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Neoral, Gengraf), and leflunomide (Arava). Potential side effects may include an increased risk of infection, liver damage, decreased fertility, and an increased risk of cancer.

6.    People with SLE treated with standard care experience a higher risk of opportunistic infections and death than the general population. In clinical trials, voclosporin has been shown to be effective in treating lupus.

Other potential drugs to treat lupus are currently being studied, including abatacept (Orencia), anifrolumab, and others.