Lupus represents a real menace for the life of the affected persons. It has chronic and autoimmune character. The body's healthy cells and the very genetic material are under attack because of the malfunction of the immune system. The consequences are severe and so are the damages produced on the internal organs. Systemic lupus erythematosus is only one disease from the large variety produced by this organic chaos. This type of lupus is very frequent and it affects 2 millions Americans; most of them are dealing with serious forms.
Despite the remarkable progress registered in modern medicine, a treatment to cure lupus completely was not found. But there are medicines able to prevent the evolution of the disorder and to keep symptoms controlled. SLE is a very unpredictable disease with multiple remissions and relapses. Even if there are times in which the symptoms back off, these are usually followed by violent and varied return of the symptoms. These fluctuations are determined by the chronic character of the disease. The alternations of remission and recurrences require permanent treatment and modifications of the doses.
This disease has a different, almost individual character for every case. Both the symptoms and the degree of severity vary widely from one patient to another. In the early phase, lupus presents flu – like symptoms: weakness of the body, muscular and articular pain, loss of appetite, low fever, fatigue or headache. These symptoms, that do not particularly belong to lupus evolve after a few months into oral and nasal lesions, sunlight – amplified skin rashes, inflammation of the articulations, permanent muscular pain, significant weight fluctuation, painful breathing and loss of hair. Additional symptoms are detected by analysis performed in laboratory: the presence of malign anti – DNA antibodies, antinuclear antibodies inside the blood and abnormalities in the number of the blood cells.
In case the nervous system is affected, the following symptoms appear: incapacity to focus, faints, mental confusion, seizures and possible development of mania, paranoia or depression.
In case the cardiovascular system is affected new symptoms indicating lupus show up: high pulse rate, hypertension, hyperactivity of the heart. This can lead to severe heart problems.
Due to the large variety of symptoms and to their unpredictable intensity, which gives the disease an individual character, individualized treatment has also been developed. Each person with lupus receives the medications that suite his/her case's symptoms. A great influence on the treatment is that of the stage in which it was discovered; the best treatment results are obtained in the cases that are identified in early stages. Untreated and uncontrolled lupus has extremely damaging effects on the patient's health.
By: Tobias Higgens -