« Information About Gout | Home | The Law Of Harvest »
What Is Lupus
By peace | June 19, 2006
Systemic lupus erythematosus (also called SLE or lupus) is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, nervous system, and/or other organs of the body. The most common symptoms include skin rashes and arthritis, often accompanied by fatigue and fever. The clinical course of SLE varies from mild to severe, and typically involves alternating periods of remission and relapse.
Lupus, is a rare chronic connective tissue disorder that typically affects women between the ages of 15 and 35. The most common of several conditions known collectively as connective tissue or autoimmune diseases, lupus affects the lining (synovial membrane) of the joints, causing inflammation, pain and, over time, damage to the joints and connective tissue.
Symptoms of lupus include achy, swollen joints, but lupus may also affect other parts of the body. Other common problems include fever, fatigue, inflammation of the lining of the lungs and heart, anemia, skin rashes such as a butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks and nose, sun or light sensitivity, hair loss, Raynaud’s phenomenon (fingers turning white and/or blue in the cold), seizures, and mouth or nose ulcers, kidney disease or neurologic problems. Typically symptoms flare up and then subside.
Unless controlled with medications or other treatments, severe forms of lupus may affect the entire body and cause such complications as kidney failure, stroke or joint damage. For many people, lupus is a mild disease affecting only a few organs. For others, it leads to serious, even life-threatening problems.
Topics: All Posts | No Comments »
