SLE Disease

     Lupus is a potentially life threatening disease that effects about 1.5 million Americans. Lupus can effect many different parts of the body. Lupus is a type of autoimmune system disorder in which the body cannot distinguish the difference between foreign antibodies and its own organs. So basically what happens is that the body ends up attacking its own organs thinking they are foreign substances. (The Lupus Foundation of America)

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown cause that can affect virtually any part of the body. The medical term for Lupus is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or better known as SLE. With Lupus there is a malfunction in some of the cells of the immune system. "In Lupus, the body overreacts to an unknown stimulus and makes to many antibodies, or proteins directed against body tissue. Thus, Lupus is called an autoimmune disease. ”#

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that attacks women between the ages of 15 and 40. It occurs less often in men than in women. The people affected by lupus vary depending on the country or region. In the US alone, the prevalence rate is highest among Asians of Hawaii, blacks of Caribbean origin, and Native Americans of the Sioux, Arapahoe, and Crow tribes. Lupus is a disease that affects the immune system. We can think of the immune system as an army within the body with hundreds of defenders (known as antibodies). They defend the body from attack by germs and viruses. In lupus, however, the immune system becomes overactive and creates antibodies that attack healthy tissues in the body, such as: the skin, kidneys, lungs, heart and brain.

Lupus does not have a known cause, and because of that it has no known cure. The exact cause of lupus is unknown, but scientists suspect that it is likely to be a combination of factors, people who contract lupus are probably genetically predisposed to lupus, and know that environmental factors such as infections, antibodies, ultraviolet light, extreme stress and certain drugs play a critical role in

as for familty history it is believed that Heretity plays a roll in lupus. With other known medicals problems similiar to those such as enemia and other autoimmune diseases it is suspected the two are intertwinned. while no factual proof leads to this assummtion it seems to be somewhat of a common occurance between

Both medical journals provide similar information about SLE dealing with genetic influence, hormones, cytokines and similar treatment. Only difference is Mechanisms of Disease Systemic Lupus Erythematosus gives information about environmental influence and A Review of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Current Treatment Options journal has no evidence to support any environmental influence. It gives details about the new medication, Belimumab, which was approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The results are small but significant beneficial with the blockade of B-lymphocyte stimulator with an anti-BLyS antibody (Tsokos, 2011). Another new treatment option is small molecule inhibitors of kinases such as Syk and CaMK4 that are showed in the immune cells of patients with SLE (Tsokos,

The most commonly affected parts of the body are the joints, skin, lung, liver, kidney and heart. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is more common in women than men especially woman from the age of 15-35. The cure for SLE is currently

These alien like materials are known as antigens. Having an autoimmune condition such as SLE, the body 's system may lose its ability to know the transformation among remote substances knowing as antigens and our normal cells and tissues. Our body system makes up these well-known antibodies engaged against itself. Our immune system protects our antibodies from the reaction within the body antigens to form protection and developments. The protected multiple factors build up in our tissues and can cause inflammation, injury to the normal cell, tissues, and cause pain. African American, Latino, and Asian women are more commonly affected by SLE than Caucasian women.

The following search mechanism was used: (“lupus, African Americans” [MeSH Terms] OR (“lupus” [All Fields] AND “African Americans” [All Fields]) OR (“lupus, blacks” [MeSH Terms] OR (“lupus” [All Fields] AND “blacks” [All Fields]) OR (“lupus, minorities” [MeSH Terms] OR (“lupus” [All Fields] AND “minorities” [All Fields]) OR (“SLE, African Americans” [MeSH Terms] OR (“SLE” [All Fields] AND “African Americans” [All Fields]) OR (“SLE, blacks” [MeSH Terms] OR (“SLE” [All Fields] AND “blacks” [All Fields]) OR (“SLE, minorities” [MeSH Terms] OR (“SLE” [All Fields] AND “minorities” [All Fields]) OR (“lupus, race” [MeSH Terms] OR (“lupus” [All Fields] AND “race” [All Fields]) OR (“SLE, race” [MeSH Terms] OR (“SLE” [All Fields] AND “race” [All Fields]). A total of 344 results were obtained and the title and abstract were reviewed by two of the authors (EMW and LB). The inclusion criteria were original research papers related to the prevalence and clinical course of SLE in African Americans. We excluded literature reviews, case reports, and surgical techniques articles. We also excluded papers published before 2000. In addition, a manual search of all referenced articles not found in the main search was performed. A total of 71 full papers were full reviewed, but we also excluded 38 additional papers because they were case studies or not limited to African Americans, for a total of 33 studies included

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a disease in which a person’s own immune system begins to recognize its own tissues and organs as foreign antigens which causes it to attack and injure those targeted structures (Perspectives 14). Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) causes coin-shaped lesions to appear on the skin and does not affect any other system other than the integumentary (Perspectives 23). As stated on the Mayo Clinic website the etiology of the disease is idiopathic, but it is believed that environmental factors and inherited genetic code may contribute to the formation of lupus. Lupus can also be triggered by sunlight, infections, and medications such as anti-seizure and hypertension prescriptions (Mayo Clinic). Iatrogenic cases of the disease often have their symptoms reduced or eradicated after stopping those medications (Mayo Clinic). Diagnosis of the disease is based upon criteria set in place by the American College of Rheumatology as lupus often affects the muscle and joints (Lupus.org). The list is comprised of eleven common signs and symptoms that have been observed by rheumatologists. They are: Malar or

Of course, there are some individuals that can be born with lupus, with no genetic history of the disease. Environmental effects such as natural sunlight can also affect Lupus. Imagine the life of an outdoorsy lupus patient that is told by physicians that “recommend they stay indoors from 10am - 4pm (Joe Bowman).” These are the most active times during the day when people are out and about. As a student at City of Medicine Academy I knew that the time would come for me to write a research paper on anything I wanted and I knew that I was going research lupus. I always desired to learn more about what my mother experienced. I also wonder if some people today are still going through what she did

Most experts can agree that there are a number of factors that cause it; the causes of Lupus are from a combination of genetics and the environment. Sometimes people inherit what is called a “genetic predisposition” which means that they inherit the chance to eventually develop it. It is very hard to pinpoint one single source of cause that triggers Lupus like I mentioned before. Things in the environment like UV rays from the sun, or unrelated things like an infection or a pregnancy can trigger it. The symptoms of Lupus range from Extreme fatigue, headaches, photosensitivity, pain/swollen joints, and one clear indicator being a butterfly-shaped rash across the cheek or nose.

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease marked by its effect on various parts of the body, including the joints, skin, blood, and kidneys. It is a condition in which the body's immune system attacks its own cells and tissues, resulting in pain, inflammation, and often damage to organs. Lupus involves the immune system. The immune system makes antibodies that work to protect the body against foreign substances like viruses and bacteria. Such foreign bodies are called antigens. When a person has lupus, his or her body is unable to determine the difference between antigens and the individual's cells and body tissues. As such, the immune system creates antibodies against the individual's own tissues. These antibodies are called autoantibodies. Depending on the type of lupus, a wide range of symptoms may be experienced, from rashes, hair loss, and achy, swollen joints to fever, anemia, and abnormal blood clotting. Though the disease can affect many parts of the body, individuals usually experience symptoms in only a few organs. There is no known cure for lupus. However,

What causes the immune system to malfunction is unknown. Therefore, there is no reliable way to prevent developing an autoimmune disease. There is a possibility that hormones may play a part in stimulating autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases may even have an inherited element because a good number of autoimmune diseases likely run in families. This means that a person is seemingly likely to develop the disease if that person has a close relative with that disease. For a few autoimmune diseases, this familial possibility remains small. (Franz, 2006, Laberge, Davidson, 2007, Schwartz, 2007, Dugdale, 2009, Wrong Diagnosis, 2000).

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disease which causes inflammation of your joints, tissues, and organs. The inflammation presents itself as heat, pain, swelling and redness. SLE is a variable disease that doesn’t take any one particular course; therefore its unpredictability makes it even more devastating. No two people will experience the same disease symptoms or severity level. As S.L.E progresses there will be periods of very subtle to no symptoms at all called remission or an exacerbation of symptoms called flares.