Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Explained
In modern times, lupus is a general term for diseases that affect the skin. Lupus, also called SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus), is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks its own tissues. More specifically, the immune system sees itself as foreign to the body and fights against itself, thereby causing widespread inflammation and tissue damage in the affected organs. It is known to affect the joints, skin, brain, lungs, kidneys, and blood vessels. The skin, especially. It is a systemic disease and it affects a wide variety of organs, but notably causes red lesions on the skin.
There is no known cure for SLE. It can only be maintained through constant medical interventions and lifestyle changes.
The focus of this article will be to explain what Autoimmune diseases are and how they affect the body. There will be particular emphasis on SLE, its causes, and its effects.
What Are Autoimmune Diseases?
Autoimmune diseases are diseases in which the body's immune system attacks healthy cells. Susceptible genes that are responsible for the cause have not been fully identified. It might run in the family but may not express phenotypically. This means that there must be an environmental trigger to set off the autoimmune response. In essence, autoimmune diseases are usually set off by environmental factors, such as ultraviolet rays.
Some examples of autoimmune diseases are Vitiligo, Rheumatoid arthritis, Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Multiple sclerosis (MS), Type 1 diabetes mellitus, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIPD), and Psoriasis.
Causes Of SLE
Although the causes of Lupus are unknown but are believed to be linked to environmental, genetic, and hormonal factors, there are factors capable of triggering it.
Usually, the immune system protects the body from attackers or invaders. But lupus is an autoimmune disease, which means the immune cells start attacking the very tissue they're supposed to protect. Here is a model description of how: Lupus is known to be triggered by environmental factors such as ultraviolet rays from the sun. The environmental trigger affects and damages the cells and causes apoptosis - breakage or cell death - which leads to the release of nuclear antigens. This is where the genetic components come in, where the person likely has susceptible genes: the presence of one or more genes, mostly mutated, and/or a family history, which increases the likelihood or chance of developing a particular disease. Such circumstances make clearing these apoptotic bodies and nuclear antigens difficult, so they end up with a lot of nuclear antigens floating around.
In addition, these patients also have genes that cause their immune cells to recognize these nuclear antigens as foreign, which automatically initiates an immune response as a form of defense by creating antinuclear antibodies that bind to these nuclear antigens, which float around and deposit in various tissues in the body. This is what causes the inflammation.
This inflammation seems to be the cause of most symptoms of lupus because these tissues are being attacked or infected, which is a type III hypersensitivity reaction.
General Symptoms Of SLE
Symptoms may vary depending on the type of lupus. The general symptoms of SLE are fever, joint pain, fatigue, weight loss, and rash in a woman of childbearing age. However, lupus affects different tissues in the body such as:
1. The skin: malar rash and discoid rash. These appear on sun-exposed areas.
2. Ulcers in the mouth and nose
3. Arthritis, when the joints get inflamed
Other symptoms may include sun sensitivity, lung, heart and kidney problems, seizures, psychosis, and blood cell and immunological abnormalities.
Surviving SLE
It has been established that SLE has no known cure and is a lifelong disease that can only be monitored and maintained.
SLE can have both short and long-term effects on the patient's life. However, early diagnosis and effective treatments can help reduce the damaging effects of SLE and improve the chance to have a better quality of life and, ultimately, survival. Factors such as little or no access to healthcare, late diagnosis, less effective treatments, and poor adherence to therapeutic regimens may increase the damaging effects of SLE, causing more complications and an increased risk of death.
Studies have used the employment measure to determine the quality of life of people living with SLE, because employment is/could be central to the patient's life.
Adherence to treatment procedures could oftentimes be a problem, especially among young women of childbearing age (15 to 46 years). Because SLE treatment may require the use of steroids and strong immunosuppressive medications that can have serious side effects, female patients must stop taking the medication before and during pregnancy to protect unborn children from harm or deformity.
Diagnosing SLE
SLE is diagnosed by a health care provider using symptom assessments, physical examination, X-rays, lab tests, or a complete biopsy of the symptomatic area. SLE may be difficult to diagnose because its early signs and symptoms are not specific and can look like signs and symptoms of other diseases. There is risk of misdiagnosis if only a blood test is used for diagnosis. Because diagnosis can be challenging, it is important to see a doctor specializing in rheumatology for a final diagnosis. Rheumatologists sometimes use specific criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I Die From Lupus?
As much as there is no definite answer to this question, lupus only becomes life-threatening when you do not adhere to treatment regimens and procedures. Although there is no known cure yet, there are certain drugs used to control its attack on your body. However, causes of premature death associated with SLE are mainly active disease, organ failure (e.g., kidneys), and infections.
Will I Ever Stop Taking The Drugs?
Probably. Now, this is not scientifically proven, but there is a chance that following and adhering to a drug’s treatment regimens and instructions will allow the complete suppression of the autoimmune response.. However, it is also likely that such drugs will not have the desired effect. Ultimately, running a biopsy from time to time and constant checkups by a health care provider and rheumatologist, there might be good news.
Am I Likely To Pass It Down To The Next Generation?
It is likely that you would, considering that SLE runs in families, although it can sometimes skip generations.
Most people with SLE do not have family members with the disease; however, some people with SLE do have a family history of the disease. Men and women with an immediate family member with SLE have only a slightly higher risk for the disease.
Summary
SLE is known to be the most common and most serious type of lupus. The other types are: Cutaneous lupus, Drug-induced lupus and Neonatal lupus.
Suddenly being diagnosed with lupus is not a death sentence. Studies show that SLE is ten times more likely to occur in women, mostly those of reproductive age because of the hormonal changes and effects. An SLE patient, if properly managed, could live a completely regular life and not worry about further complications. It is advisable to visit a rheumatologist as quickly as possible when you experience any of the symptoms listed above. It is likely not to be SLE because there are other diseases with similar symptoms, but to be on the safe side, it is advisable to run a thorough checkup on your body.
Works Cited
Jolly M, Pickard SA, Mikolaitis RA, Rodby RA, Sequeira W, Block JA. Lupus QoL-US benchmarks for US patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. J Rheumatol. 2010;37(9):1828–1833. doi:10.3899/jrheum.091443. PubMed PMID: 20716659. abstractExternal
Yazdany J, Yelin E. Health-related quality of life and employment among persons with systemic lupus erythematosus. Rheum Dic Clin North Am. 2010;36(1):15–32. PubMed PMID: 20202589; PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC2833285. doi:10.1016/j.rdc.2009.12.006. abstractExternal
