What is systemic lupus erythematosus?
Systemic lupus erythematosus, or lupus as it is more commonly known, is a chronic inflammatory disease that involves the immune system. The immune system is supposed to protect the body against foreign agents such as bacteria or viruses, but in lupus the immune system becomes confused and turns against itself, attacking and destroying healthy tissue. Lupus can affect virtually any organ in the body, such as the kidneys, heart, lungs, brain, blood, skin, etc. When only the skin is involved, the disease is called discoid lupus erythematosus. But when internal systems are involved the term systemic lupus erythematosus is used. In systemic lupus the skin may be involved, also.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune condition and belongs to a group of conditions known as autoimmune disorders. These are disorders in which antibodies (proteins in the blood which are designed to isolate and attack foreign materials such as viruses and bacteria) attack cells of the body’s own tissues. In doing so, an inflammatory reaction results (SLE is primarily a disease of inflammation); this is usually a temporary effect, but permanent damage may occur. The connective tissue in a variety of organs may be affected by these antibodies, as the antibodies can attach to certain proteins in the body and this can lead to widespread damage. (Connective tissue is the tissue that binds and gives strength to many parts of the body such as the skin, joints, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels). Therefore SLE is sometimes referred to as a connective tissue disease (but many other structures in the body can also be affected).
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a challenging ‘autoimmune’ whose wide variety of manifestations makes it a necessary part of the differential diagnosis for children and adolescents with many different presenting complaints. Nonspecific complaints of fatigue and malaise are the most common initial symptoms of SLE in children and adolescents. The typical ‘butterfly’ rash is present in less than one-third of affected children. Many pediatricians dismiss SLE from their differential diagnosis as ‘uncommon in childhood’, but positive tests for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and other findings which warrant inclusion of SLE in the differential diagnosis are in fact quite common. Further with increased recognition of ‘milder’ cases SLE is far more common than previously thought. Despite the popular misconception of ANA and antibodies directed against deoxyribonucleic acid (anti-DNA) do not mean that SLE is a disease in which the body is ‘reacting against itself.
Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic (persistent) disease that causes inflammation in various parts of the body. It is commonly just called SLE or ‘lupus’. The severity of SLE ranges from mild to severe. There are two main forms of lupus. Discoid lupus only affects only the skin and is not discussed in this leaflet. The other form is systemic lupus erythematosus which involves the skin and joints and may involve internal organs such as the heart or kidney as well.
