It's not contagious, like measles — you can't “catch” it from another person. It's not a disease that parents pass directly down to their children; in fact, there's only about a 5 percent chance that a son or daughter of someone with lupus will also develop it.
SLE and other autoimmune disorders tend to run in families, but the inheritance pattern is usually unknown. People may inherit a gene variation that increases or decreases the risk of SLE, but in most cases do not inherit the condition itself.
If symptoms develop (e.g., joint swelling and pain, unexplained rashes, atypical chest pain), we encourage family members to seek evaluation from their regular doctors, and to be sure to mention the family history of lupus.
It's likely that lupus results from a combination of your genetics and your environment. It appears that people with an inherited predisposition for lupus may develop the disease when they come into contact with something in the environment that can trigger lupus. The cause of lupus in most cases, however, is unknown.
Most often it happens in people between ages 15 and 45 years, but lupus can occur in childhood or later in life as well. Lupus is more common in African Americans than in white people and is also more common in people of American Indian and Asian descent.
You may get rashes on any part of your body that is exposed to the sun, such as your face, arms, and hands. One common sign of lupus is a red, butterfly-shaped rash across the nose and cheeks. Chest pain. Lupus can trigger inflammation in the lining of the lungs.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) may coexist, and they are chronic complex disorders, with an autoimmune background, multifactorial etiology, multiple circulating autoantibodies, and variable prognosis.
With close follow-up and treatment, 80-90% of people with lupus can expect to live a normal life span. It is true that medical science has not yet developed a method for curing lupus, and some people do die from the disease. However, for the majority of people living with the disease today, it will not be fatal.
In 20% of people who have lupus, a parent or sibling already has lupus or develops it later. About 5% of children born to a parent with lupus will develop the disease. Even in people with no lupus in their family history, other autoimmune diseases are more likely.
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with a wide range of clinical presentations resulting from its effect on multiple organ systems. There are four main types of lupus: neonatal, discoid, drug-induced, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the type that affects the majority of patients.
There is a very low incidence of SLE before 4 years of age. We present the clinical case of a 9 month-old female in whom four criteria of SLE were clearly documented at 6 months of age. In a review of literature, this is the youngest patient reported with SLE.
Kidneys About one half of people with lupus experience kidney involvement, and the kidney has become the most extensively studied organ affected by lupus.
Hair loss is common in people living with lupus. The autoimmune disease causes body-wide inflammation that attacks the joints and skin, including the scalp. This can result in hair loss (alopecia ). Lupus-related hair loss can occur slowly, causing hair to become noticeably thinner gradually.
Who is at risk for SLE? SLE can affect people of all ages, including children. However, women of childbearing ages—15 to 44 years—are at greatest risk of developing SLE. Women of all ages are affected far more than men (estimates range from 4 to 12 women for every 1 man).
Lupus symptoms can also be unclear, can come and go, and can change. On average, it takes nearly six years for people with lupus to be diagnosed, from the time they first notice their lupus symptoms.
With age, symptom activity with lupus often declines, but symptoms you already have may grow more severe. The accumulation of damage over years may result in the need for joint replacements or other treatments.
Viruses that have been linked to lupus include: Cytomegalovirus. Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis. Varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and shingles.
Because lupus is an autoimmune disease, it causes your body to attack itself. This can lead to organ damage over time. Parts of the body that can be impacted by lupus can include the skin, blood, joints, kidneys, brain, heart and lungs. Skin: Skin problems are a common feature of lupus.
Diagnostic Criteria. Systemic lupus erythematosus can be difficult to diagnose: no single blood or imaging test can definitively identify it, and its symptoms can be vague, progress slowly, change, or mimic other conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis. As a result, it's important to consult a rheumatologist.
Your doctor will look for rashes and other signs that something is wrong. Blood and urine tests. The antinuclear antibody (ANA) test can show if your immune system is more likely to make the autoantibodies of lupus. Most people with lupus test positive for ANA.
Common symptoms include fatigue, hair loss, sun sensitivity, painful and swollen joints, unexplained fever, skin rashes, and kidney problems. There is no one test for SLE. Usually, your doctor will ask you about your family and personal medical history and your symptoms. Your doctor will also do some laboratory tests.
A tell-tale sign of lupus is a butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks and bridge of the nose. Other common skin problems include sensitivity to the sun with flaky, red spots or a scaly, purple rash on various parts of the body, including the face, neck, and arms. Some people also develop mouth sores.