If your brain is affected by lupus, you may experience headaches, dizziness, behavior changes, vision problems, and even strokes or seizures. Many people with lupus experience memory problems and may have difficulty expressing their thoughts.
People with lupus can have cognitive symptoms, like having a hard time thinking clearly or remembering things. This is also called “brain fog” or “lupus fog,” and it often comes and goes over time. In some people, lupus fog can be present for many years.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) may affect any organ of the human body. When lupus affects the brain, spinal cord, or nerves, we call this neuropsychiatric lupus or neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE).
Both lupus and MS can follow a pattern of remission and relapse which repeats. 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.
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.
What Is Lupus Fog? Lupus fog is a general name for the cognitive impairments that often appear with lupus, including concentration and memory problems, confusion, and difficulty expressing yourself. These cognitive problems are often worse during flares.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most common and most serious type of lupus. SLE affects all parts of the body. Cutaneous lupus erythematosus, which affects only the skin. Drug-induced lupus, a short-term type of lupus caused by certain medicines.
With appropriate treatment and frequent clinical follow-up, lupus organizations estimate that 80 to 90 percent of people with lupus will have a normal life expectancy.
What is the difference between MS and lupus? Multiple sclerosis (MS) and lupus are autoimmune conditions. They can cause similar symptoms, but they are different conditions. MS affects the nervous system, while lupus affects the skin, joints, body organs and, in some cases, the nervous system.
The term 'lupus fog' is used by many people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). On patient fora and websites, confusion, difficulty planning, loss of concentration, difficulty in articulating thoughts, and memory impairment are symptoms described in the context of this fog.
People living with lupus may experience various types of headaches for different reasons. Some of these may include: Migraine: This is a type of moderate to severe headache that may feel like a throbbing pain on one side of the head.
Environment. Exposure to certain factors in the environment – such as viral infections, sunlight, certain medications, and smoking – may trigger lupus.
The term "lupus fog" is almost universally known to people with lupus. The phrase reflects the difficulty that you may have in completing once-familiar tasks such as remembering names and dates, keeping appointments, balancing your checkbook or processing your thoughts.
Lupus and its treatments can impair mental & emotional health. 80-90% of people with lupus. Neuropsychiatric lupus describes feelings of depression, headaches, and lupus fog — trouble thinking or remembering due to lupus. 25% of lupus patients experience major depression and 37% have major anxiety, research shows.
Joint pain and stiffness — Joint pain and stiffness (arthritis) occur in almost all people with lupus at some point during the disease, and these are often the earliest symptoms. The pain and stiffness tends to move from one part of the body to another and does not usually affect both sides of the body in the same way.
The effects lupus may have in and around the eyes include: changes in the skin around the eyelids, dry eyes, inflammation of the white outer layer of the eyeball, blood vessel changes in the retina, and damage to nerves controlling eye movement and affecting vision.
Is Autoimmune disease a disability that qualifies for financial help in Australia? Autoimmune disease is a disability that qualifies for financial help in Australia. Help is available through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which is administered by Centrelink.
Class 4, or diffuse lupus nephritis
Class 4 involves damage to more than half of the glomerulus. A person will have high blood pressure. They may require dialysis as kidney function begins to worsen.
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.
Cognitive dysfunction occurs in many people with lupus, but it is usually not severe. Likewise, lupus fog usually does not progress to the level of dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
The study revealed that people with SLE were 51 percent more likely to develop dementia than people without SLE, and this association persisted across all age groups. Based on their results, the researchers conclude that “systemic lupus erythematosus is significantly associated with dementia.”
The study, published in PLoS One, determined that a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) resulted in being 2.4 times more likely to have dementia even after excluding other comorbidities.