They can both cause brain lesions that look similar on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). While the nerves are the primary target of MS, lupus sometimes affects the nerves as well. Both conditions appear to have a genetic element and may occur within families. Both conditions are commonly misdiagnosed at first.
Even when lupus affects your nervous system, its most common symptoms are migraine, personality changes, seizures, or stroke, but these aren't typical for MS. Common MS symptoms include electric shocks when you move your neck, vision problems, slurred speech, and bladder or bowel problems. These aren't lupus symptoms.
Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that can mimic some of the symptoms of MS such as fatigue and joint pain. However, Sjogren's syndrome is known to cause dry mouth and eyes, which are not associated with MS.
Nervous system problems might be symptoms of lupus, or they might be caused by a different condition. Different medical specialists (e.g. rheumatologist, neurologist, psychiatrist) and neuropsychologists can find out if your nervous system problems are related to lupus.
As a result, people with lupus are frequently misdiagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, skin disorders, psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression or receive no answers at all.
Your doctor may order an MRI if it appears that lupus has affected the central nervous system, which includes the brain and the spinal cord, and is causing confusion or “brain fog,” depression, seizures, or psychosis.
In general, lupus does more generalized damage to your body than MS, which primarily damages the nervous system.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia and MS have some similar symptoms, including headaches, joint and muscle pain, numbness and tingling of extremities, memory problems, and fatigue. Like MS, fibromyalgia is more common in women than in men.
Spinal tap (lumbar puncture), in which a small sample of cerebrospinal fluid is removed from your spinal canal for laboratory analysis. This sample can show abnormalities in antibodies that are associated with MS . A spinal tap can also help rule out infections and other conditions with symptoms like MS .
Mild positive ANA is common among patients with MS and does not significantly differ from the general population.
Some of the most common early signs are: fatigue (a kind of exhaustion which is out of all proportion to the task undertaken) stumbling more than before. unusual feelings in the skin (such as pins and needles or numbness)
While there is no definitive blood test for MS, blood tests can rule out other conditions that cause symptoms similar to those of MS, including lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, some infections and rare hereditary diseases.
While there are no definitive blood tests for diagnosing MS, they can rule out other conditions that may mimic MS symptoms, including Lyme disease, collagen-vascular diseases, rare hereditary disorders, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Some two-thirds of lupus patients complain of having arthritis in their feet. Additionally, tenosynovitis and tendonitis often coexist, leading to widespread foot and ankle pain, causing considerable disability.
MRI is considered the best test to help diagnose MS. However, 5% of people with MS do not have abnormalities detected on MRI; thus, a "negative" scan does not completely rule out MS. In addition, some common changes of aging may look like MS on a MRI. To track the progress of disease.
Some of these "SLE mimickers" are very common, such as rosacea which can be mistaken for the butterfly rash, while others such as Kikuchi disease, type-1 interferonopathies, Castleman's disease, prolidase deficiency, angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, Evans' syndrome in the context of primary immune deficiencies and ...
Autosomal systemic lupus erythematosus is a rare, genetic, multisystemic, chronic autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of systemic lupus erythematosus symptoms in two or more members of a single family.
Lupus can be hard to diagnose because it has many symptoms that are often mistaken for symptoms of other diseases. Many people have lupus for a while before they find out they have it.
The test you will hear about most is called the antinuclear antibodies test (the ANA test). 97% of people with lupus will test positive for ANA. ANA connect or bind to the nucleus or command center of the cell. This process damages and can destroy the cells.
Chronic Cutaneous Lupus
Lesions most often appear on the face, ears, scalp, neck, and hands. They are usually not itchy or painful, but they may cause dark spots or scars that remain on the skin after they heal. Scarring on the scalp may destroy hair follicles and result in permanent hair loss.