LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS

Lupus Erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disease, difficult to define and often considered a medical mystery.

Lupus Erythematosus is a chronic disorder of the immune system that causes inflammation of various parts of the body.

People with lupus have immune system abnormalities. for most people, lupus is a mild disease affecting only a few body organs; for others, it may cause serious and even life threatening problems. Lupus can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, heart, nervous system, blood and/or other body organs or systems.

The Different Types of Lupus

There are three types of lupus:

Cutameous Lupus (also known as discoid lupus) is confined to the skin and is characterized either by persistent flushing of the cheeks or disc like lesions (i.e rash) that appear on the face, neck scalp and other areas of the skin exposed to ultraviolet light (e.g. sunlight, fluorescent light). The rash is usually raised, scaly, red but not itchy. These lesions, if not adequately treated, may develop into permanent scars. If they involve the scalp, they can result in bald spots.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) cause inflammation in a number of organs of the body. In some individuals this may mean skin and joint involvement, while in others the joints and lungs, kidneys and blood may be affected. In still others, there may be other combinations of organs involved. the disease is characterized by periods in which few if any symptoms are evident ("remission") and other periods in which it becomes active again ("flare").

 Drug-Induced Lupus. Certain prescribed drugs can create a lupus-like syndrome which is similar to SLE, but very rarely affects either the kidneys or the nervous system. The most commonly implicated drugs are hydralazine (used to treat hypertension) and procainamide (used to treat irregular hear rhythms). Only some people who take these drugs respond with drug-induced lupus. when the medications are discontinued, the symptoms of lupus fade.

What is Lupus, the causes, the symptoms and diagnosing lupus sections is information by:-
Peter Scbur, M.D.
professor of Medicine, Harvard medical School
Director of Lupus Clinic & Research
Brigham  and Women's Hospital