by iWrite

Created on: December 09, 2009

Systemic lupus erythematosus, more commonly called SLE Lupus or just lupus, is a chronic disorder that can really affect any part of your body. It is a pretty common disease found in the United States today. People who contract lupus are normally between the ages of 15 and 44 years old. Patients with lupus are ninety percent of the time women. Not only that, but women have a higher fatality rate by five times than men with lupus.

The cause of this disease is not completely known. However, scientists and doctors believe that it is a hereditary disease, which is actually triggered by something either hormonal and/or environmental. Scientists have not found out exactly if it is caused by a mutation in the body caused through genetics, or from something like pollution and chemicals from factories. Since there is no known cause, and no known cure to this date, it can be very hard to diagnose and treat lupus. However, when patients are diagnosed with SLE Lupus, drugs steroids, and sometimes chemotherapies can be used to help your immune system with lupus. The processes with treating lupus are very similar to the processes in treating some cancers that are found.

 Lupus is very hard to diagnose because doctors cannot simply diagnose it with just a screening. There are also many different symptoms and the disease can affect many different areas of the body. Some of the symptoms that people have with lupus are tiredness, skin discoloration, arthritis, a fever, no appetite, and even sensitivity to sunlight. You may have a variety of symptoms yet still not have SLE lupus. Many of the symptoms found above are regular symptoms to normal everyday things. This disorder can also be worse for one person than another. Some may have it more severe than others. People with lupus go through different stages of the illness, when it’s bad they’re called flares, and when they are doing well it is called remission, or a remission period.

SLE Lupus is a very common disease, and scientists are finding that it is on the rise. We are progressing our knowledge with SLE lupus so that hopefully one day we will have more information about this harmful disease. Now that lupus is classified as one of the major diseases, we may know more about this disease soon, and more about how to treat it in the near future.

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