Lupus


What is Lupus?
If you are suffering from Lupus, something is wrong with your immune system and it attacks all the possible healthy cells and tissues within your body. This can damage the parts of the body such as follows:
There are several kinds of Lupus and the most common type includes systemic lupus erythematosus, which affects many parts of the body. The other kind of Lupus includes are as follows:

• Heart
• Skin
• Kidneys
• Brain
• Lungs

Discoid lupus erythematosus – cause skin rash that doesn’t go Drug-induced lupus – caused by medications
Neonatal lupus – very rare and usually affects newborns
Lupus is very difficult to predict. However, if not treated properly, it can lead to serious and other life threatening problems.

Types of Lupus 
There are three major types of Lupus can be categorized as follows:

Systemic lupus erythematosus – known as SLE, it is the most serious form of Lupus disease. Systemic means that it can or may affect many parts of the body such as the joints, skin, kidneys, lungs and heart or even the brain. If not treated properly, it can cause damage to the organs inside your body.

Discoid and cutaneous lupus – usually affects the skin. The person suffering from this disease can have red rash or a color change of the skin on the scalp, face, or any other parts of the body.

Drug-induced lupus – is caused by the number of prescription medication that why called as drug-induced. The person with drug-induced lupus may have symptoms similar to Systemic lupus erythematosus but is less serious. And when the medicine is stopped the disease goes away. The common drugs that can cause lupus are procainamide – for heart disease, hydralazine – for high blood pressure etc. Drug-induced lupus is commonly found in older men and women of all the races.

What Causes of Lupus?
The actual causes of Lupus are not known. It is likely that there is no single cause but a combination of genetic, environmental and hormonal factors that combine together to cause such disease. It is not contagious – i.e. you can’t catch it from someone.

Lupus Treatment?
No known cure for Lupus, but there is various effective treatments for Lupus. Most of the symptoms of Lupus loops around swelling so the treatment can be given that focus on reducing the swelling.

Antimalarial drugs – medicines used to prevent are used to treat joint pain, skin rashes, and ulcers. A Common Antimalarial drug includes hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.

Immunosuppressive agents/chemotherapy - These agents are used in serious cases of Lupus, when major organs are losing their ability to function. These drugs help in suppressing the immune system to reduce the damage to the organ.

Corticosteroids – It is the most common drugs used in lupus treatment because they tend to reduce inflammation at rapid speed and helps to slowdown the disease. The main aim of Corticosteroids is to induce and maintain lupus remission using lowest possible dose to avoid side effects, which includes weight gain, increased blood sugar and weakness.

How is lupus diagnosed?
The patient with Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can have variety of symptoms or combinations of organ; no single test can determine the diagnosis of lupus