Sle_Lupus

LUPUS (SLE) Healthwise Incorporated Abstract Throughout all of the illnesses that affect the human body and harm it is Systematic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE is a very severe illness that can rupture one’s life entirely. Knowing that Lupus is the elusive, undiagnosed culprit for many people’s suffering is frightening to me. It is important to educate others about the suspected causes, life changing symptoms, and various treatments of Lupus. To better understand all of this we need to know what Systematic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is. It’s a chronic inflammatory disease which can affect any organ or system in the body. Although the cause is still uncertain, it is known that lupus is an autoimmune disease which means that the immune system, which normally protects the body from bacteria, viruses and other foreign substances, mistakenly directs an attack against the body's own healthy tissues, when this happens it is called autoantibodies. The result is inflammation in specific organs which produces the symptoms of Lupus. It is disease that can affect almost every organ in the body and it causes symptoms that can vary from mild to life threatening. (Lupus symptoms vary widely, and they come and go. The times when symptoms get worse are called relapses, or flares. The times when symptoms are under control are called remissions.) (Healthwise Inc.) Some of the symptoms are fatigue, joint and muscle pain, skin problems such malar rash, sensitivity to ultraviolet light or tanning parlors, nervous system symptoms, pericarditis, Pleurisy, mental health problems like anxiety or depression, fever, change in weight when flaring, alopecia, Raynaud’s phenomenon, cutaneous vasculitis, swelling of the hands and feet, anemia, as well as other common symptoms are similar to SLE since is very commonly misdiagnosed, re-diagnosed, and mimics other illnesses it is known as the great imitator. It also may affect the brain lungs skin or kidneys just to name a few organs possibly affected. People need to be aware that there are options now by using medications to keep the disease at bay but there are currently doing trials to help lessen the symptoms of lupus, but there is yet to be a cure. If u show symptoms though they r commonly confused since it is the disease of many faces doesn’t mean it is lupus may have another common illness but u can always ask questions with your physician or Rheumatologist. Survival rate is 95 percent with medication depending on the severity of the disease and symptoms. It’s not easy to diagnosis because of the many organs that are involved. Patients with SLE that want to have children sometimes ask if their children will get the disease to but it is seen that they sometimes get multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome, polymyositis but one child may get it or it may skip several generations. Thus, there is a great deal importance of educating others about the causes, symptoms, and treatments of Lupus and to give them a better understanding of what the illness is. Keywords: 1. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus- an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the connective tissues, occurring mainly among middle aged women, chiefly characterized by skim eruptions, joint pain, recurrent pleurisy, and kidney disease. 2. Autoimmune (aw-toh-i-myoon) - of or pertaining to the immune response of an organism against any of its own tissues, cells, or cell components. 3. Elusive (ih-loo-siv)- eluding clear perception or complete mental grasp; hard to express or define: an elusive concept. 4. Autoantibodies (aw-tow-an-ti-bod-ee,-an-tee)- an antibody that an organism produces against any of its own tissues, cells, or cell components. 5. Fatigue (fuh-teeg)- temporary diminution of the irritability or functioning of organs, tissues, or cells after excessive exertion or stimulation. 6. Malar rash (mey-ler) - of or pertaining to the cheek or zygomatic bone. 7. Pericarditis (per-i-kahr-dahy-tis) – inflammation of the pericardium(the membrane sac enclosing the heart) 8. Pleurisy (ploor-uh-see) - inflammation of the pleura, with or without a liquid effusion in the pleural cavity, characterized by a dry cough and pain in the affected side. 9. Alopecia (al-uh-pee-shee-uh) – loss of hair, baldness 10. Raynaud’s phenomenon - is a vasospastic disorder causing discoloration of the fingers, toes, and occasionally other extremities. 11. cutaneous vasculitis- A form of vasculitis affecting the skin, often with involvement of other organs, characterized by a polymorphonuclear infiltrate of the small vessels. 12. Anemia (uh-nee-mee-uh) - a quantitative deficiency of the hemoglobin, often accompanied by a reduced number of red blood cells and causing pallor, weakness, and breathlessness. 13. Rheumatologist (roo-muh-tol-uh-jist)- a specialist in rheumatology, especially a physician who specializes in the treatment of rheumatic diseases, as arthritis, lupus erythematosus, and scleroderma. 14. multiple sclerosis- chronic degenerative, often episodic disease of the central nervous system marked by patchy destruction of the myelin that surrounds and insulates nerve fibers, usually appearing in young adulthood and manifested by one or more mild to severe neural and muscular impairments, as spastic weakness in one or more limbs, local sensory losses, bladder dysfunction, or visual disturbances. 15. Rheumatoid arthritis- a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of the joints, frequently accompanied by marked deformities, and ordinarily associated with manifestations of a general, or systemic, affliction. 16. Sjogren’s syndrome (SHOW-gren)- Sjorgen syndrome is an autoimmune condition that effects moisture producing glands 17. Polymyositis- Inflammation of several voluntary muscles simultaneously. References Healthwise Inc., (2010, May 07). Lupus Health Center. Retrieved from http://lupus.webmd.com/guide/lupus-systemic-lupus-erythematosus-topic-overview