What is lupus?

I am afraid I might have lupus and my doctor is going to miss something and end up diagnosing me with lupus too late. If I have it, I want to be diagnosed as early as possible. How can I make sure I am diagnosed earlier rather than later? Because lupus tends to develop slowly and evolve gradually over time, awaiting a diagnosis can be like waiting for a Polaroid picture to develop. If you are seen by a doctor at a point in time when only one or two criteria are satisfied, it is like looking at a picture that is only one-quarter or half-way developed. No one looking at that picture can accurately identify what it is. Nor can they predict if it will develop at all or what it will develop into, or how long it will be before it is developed to the point where it's identifiable. Just as there is no good way to speed-up the development of a Polaroid, there is no way to hurry-up the diagnosis of lupus. The length of time it takes before lupus can be diagnosed is highly variable; it may take ...  more

What are the types of lupus? Lupus is an autoimmune disease characterized by acute and chronic inflammation of various tissues of the body. Autoimmune diseases are illnesses that occur when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. The immune system is a complex system within the body that is designed to fight infectious agents, such as bacteria and other foreign microbes. One of the ways that the immune system fights infections is by producing antibodies that bind to the microbes. Patients with lupus produce abnormal antibodies in their blood that target tissues within their own body rather than foreign infectious agents. Because the antibodies and accompanying cells of inflammation can affect tissues anywhere in the body, lupus has the potential to affect a variety of areas. Sometimes lupus can cause disease of the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints, and/or nervous system. When only the skin is involved, the condition is called lupus dermatitis or cutaneous lupus ...  more

Lupus is a chronic (long-lasting) autoimmune disease in which the immune system, for unknown reasons, becomes hyperactive and attacks normal tissue. This attack results in inflammation and brings about symptoms. What does autoimmune mean? Literally it means immune activity directed against the self. The immune system fights the body itself (Auto=self). In autoimmune diseases, the immune system makes a mistake and reacts to the body's own tissues. What is inflammation? Literally it means setting on fire. It is a protective process our body uses when tissues are injured. Inflammation helps to eliminate a foreign body or organism (virus, bacteria) and prevent further injury. Signs of inflammation include; swelling, redness, pain and warmth. If the signs of inflammation are long lasting, as they can be in lupus, then damage to the tissues can occur and normal function is impaired. This is why the treatment of lupus is aimed at reducing the inflammation. What happens in autoimmune ...  more

Lupus, also called systemic lupus erythematosus (sis-teh-mik lew-pus er-eh-thee-muh-toh-sis) or SLE, is a disease that affects your immune system. Normally, your immune system fights infections caused by germs. Instead of protecting your body, your immune system makes the mistake of attacking your body's healthy cells. Lupus can affect almost any part of your body, including your joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain. There is no way to know what part of your body will be affected. For most people though, lupus is a mild disease affecting only a few parts of your body, and some patients don't get inner organ problems (like in the heart and lungs), but do have skin and joint problems. Normally, lupus develops slowly, with symptoms that come and go. For some, it can cause serious and even life-threatening problems. Even for patients with diseases that hurt their organs, with good care and management and a strong partnership between a patient and her health care ...  more

Lupus (LOO-puhss) is a chronic, autoimmune (aw-toh-ih-MYOON) disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years. In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and other germs (“foreign invaders,” like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues (“auto” means “self”). In lupus, your immune system creates autoantibodies (AW-toh-AN-teye-bah-deez), which attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.  more

Systemic lupus erythematosus (S.L.E.), commonly called lupus, is a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect virtually any organ of the body. In lupus, the body's immune system, which normally functions to protect against foreign invaders, becomes hyperactive, forming antibodies that attack normal tissues and organs, including the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, and blood. Lupus is characterized by periods of illness, called flares, and periods of wellness, or remission. Because its symptoms come and go and mimic those of other diseases, lupus is difficult to diagnose. There is no single laboratory test that can definitively prove that a person has this complex illness. Read more about lupus symptoms and lupus diagnosis.  more

Lupus is a chronic (long-lasting) autoimmune disease where the immune system, for unknown reasons, becomes hyperactive & attacks normal tissue. This attack results in inflammation & brings about symptoms.  more

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune ('auto' meaning 'self') disease in which the body's immune system becomes 'hyperactive' and attacks the body's normal tissues. It is much like the body being allergic to itself. Lupus is not contagious.  more

Lupus is a chronic (long-lasting) autoimmune disease in which the immune system, for unknown reasons, becomes hyperactive and attacks normal tissue. This attack results in inflammation and brings about symptoms.  more

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. For many people, the disease is mild and affects only a few organs. For others, however, the disease can be severe and even life threatening. 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. When a person has lupus, autoantibodies react with cells and tissues to form immune complexes. These ...  more