The most important points regarding lupus complications
Lupus is a common skin condition that can be a problem for you. If you suspect that you have it in your body, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with its common symptoms and learn the best ways to deal with it.
Lupus is a disease that we know less about. While efforts are being made to find new ways to diagnose and treat lupus, one of the factors that still hinders progress is people’s lack of awareness and knowledge about this disease. Therefore, efforts should be made to raise people’s knowledge about this disease. What do you know about lupus? According to the results of a survey by the Lupus Foundation of America, about 72% of Americans aged 18-34 do not know about the disease or know nothing more than its name.
23-year-old Selena Gomez announced that she was diagnosed with lupus in her late teens and underwent treatment last year. Gomez is just one of an estimated 1.5 million Americans who have some form of lupus, and more than 16,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year.
About 90% of people with lupus are women. Black women are about three times more likely to get it than white women. But what exactly is lupus? What are its symptoms and complications? And why do we know less about this disease? We will review in this article.
Causes, symptoms and complications of lupus
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system produces autoantibodies that attack healthy cells and tissues such as the skin, joints, heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain.
While the exact cause of lupus is unclear, the disease can be triggered by certain environmental factors such as sun exposure, stress, and smoking. Pregnancy is a common trigger for the disease among women.
Because lupus is more common among women during their reproductive years, researchers hypothesize that the female hormone estrogen may play an important role in the development of the disease. Studies have shown that women report flares of lupus symptoms just before menstruation and during pregnancy when estrogen production is higher.
In addition, the development of lupus is believed to be influenced by certain genes, although researchers believe that it is unlikely that genes alone cause the disease, but rather a combination of factors.
There are many different forms of lupus. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most common, accounting for about 70% of all cases. In SLE, any part of the body can be affected, although about 80% of cases are in the skin.
The signs and symptoms of SLE include chest pain, shortness of breath, muscle pain, fatigue, fever, hair loss, mouth sores, sensitivity to light, anemia, and skin rashes. The bridge of the nose can be seen.
Other forms of lupus include cutaneous lupus erythematosus, which is limited to the skin, and drug-induced lupus erythematosus, which can be triggered by certain medications, including hydralazine and procainamide. Symptoms of drug-induced lupus are similar to SLE, although Important organs are rarely affected.
Complications from lupus depend on which part of the body is affected. People with inflammation in the brain, for example, may have headaches, memory problems, and confusion, and are at increased risk for stroke.
Lupus can cause severe kidney damage, and about 40% of people with lupus experience kidney complications, and it is one of the leading causes of death among people with the disease.
Inflammation of blood vessels – known as vasculitis Inflammation of the heart also increases the risk of heart attack and cardiovascular disease for people with lupus People with lupus are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people without have a disease
People with lupus are also more prone to infections because its treatment can weaken the immune system. Respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, salmonella, herpes, shingles, and fungal infections are the most common.
Lupus: The Great Imitator
Lupus is often considered the “great imitator” because the symptoms of the disease are so similar to other conditions, meaning that the disease is often mistaken for other diseases in patients.
According to the Anvil study conducted in 2014 by the Lupus Foundation of America and Eli Lilly, it takes an average of 6 years from the first symptoms of the disease to diagnosis.
Additionally, the survey found that 66% of people with lupus reported that they had been misdiagnosed with lupus.
Each patient with lupus presents with very different symptoms, making diagnosis difficult.
Dr. Susan Manzi, director of the Lupus Center in Pittsburgh, explains that one of the biggest mysteries of lupus is that it manifests in different ways in different people. No two cases are exactly the same. This variation makes lupus one of the hardest diseases to diagnose. , treatment and management for doctors.
What makes this disease more difficult to diagnose is that there is no single test to identify lupus, and it is usually diagnosed through a combination of blood and urine, physical examination, and sampling.
Blood tests may be done to determine low white blood cells or platelets, or whether they have low levels of hemoglobin (a protein found in red blood cells), all of which can be indicators of lupus.
The antinuclear antibody (ANA) test is another method that doctors may use to diagnose lupus. The majority of people with lupus have a positive ANA test. Although a positive result is not a definitive indicator of the condition, a positive ANA test can be about 5- 10% of healthy women are also positive.
A urine test may be done to detect elevated levels of protein or red blood cells, which can be signs of lupus affecting the kidneys.
The doctor may also perform a skin or kidney biopsy to diagnose lupus. The samples are observed and evaluated under a microscope for changes that may indicate the presence of this disease.
How is lupus treated?
There is no cure for lupus, but there are a number of treatments that may help manage the disease. These treatments aim to prevent flare-ups, reduce symptoms, and reduce organ damage and other complications.
Treatment for a person with lupus depends on their symptoms, although medications likely play an important role in managing the disease.
Some common medications for mild cases of lupus include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids, which can reduce pain and swelling in the muscles and joints, and antimalarial drugs, which can treat joint pain, itchy skin, fatigue, and pneumonia. help.
In severe cases of lupus, the doctor may recommend immunosuppressive drugs and chemotherapy. These treatments work by inhibiting the body’s immune system in order to prevent organ damage.
Treating lupus can be challenging, especially since the disease is so difficult to diagnose. However, it’s important to know that the treatments available for the disease can be effective. About 80-90% of people with lupus have no organ involvement. With available treatments, the body can live as long as people without lupus.
However, there is no doubt that there is a need for effective diagnostic and treatment strategies for lupus, and researchers are working hard to identify them.
For example, last year, Medical News Today reported on a study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham detailing the discovery of an immune protein called the FC receptor that causes the development of the disease, which also causes multiple sclerosis (MS). Affected by the.
According to the researchers, the FC receptor regulates the antibody products produced by the body’s immune system that attack foreign invaders in the body. This group found that this receptor is mutated in people with lupus and MS, leading to overproduction. Antibodies attack healthy tissues.
This new finding can play an important role in companies designing treatments for autoimmune diseases.
Life challenges in people with lupus
Lupus is a disease that can make life difficult. Although current treatments can help alleviate certain symptoms, the disease can still cause complications and can make it difficult to simply get out of bed.
But these are not the only physical symptoms that can make life difficult for people with lupus. The disease can also have a negative impact on mental health. In this Anvil survey, about 90% of people with lupus have anxiety. and about 85% feel depressed.
Lupus causes a person to feel tired during the week and causes them to withdraw from social activities and they feel isolated from society. Another challenge for people with lupus is that the disease is often “invisible”. And it can make it hard for others to understand what people with lupus want.
Lupus can also dramatically change a person’s lifestyle. They may stop working. For example, they may need help with general daily tasks, such as housework, cooking, or shopping.