Lupus is a disease that occurs when your body's immune system attacks your own tissues and organs (autoimmune disease). Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems — including your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.
SLE affects the hematologic system with a decrease in the levels of white cells, platelets, and red cells; life threatening thrombocytopenia and severe anemia although uncommon can be seen in patients with SLE. In the most severe forms of SLE, the kidney and the central nervous systems are affected (23).
It can affect your joints, tendons, kidneys, and skin. It can affect blood vessels. And it can affect organs such as the heart, lungs, and brain. It can cause rashes, fatigue, pain, and fever.
serositis – inflammation of the lining around the lungs (pleuritis) or inflammation of the lining around the heart that causes chest pain that is worse with deep breathing (pericarditis) musculoskeletal – joint pain and swelling. kidney disorder – persistent protein or evidence of lupus involvement on kidney biopsy.
However, the majority of people with lupus can expect a normal or near-normal life expectancy. Research has shown that many people with a lupus diagnosis have been living with the disease for up to 40 years.
Kidneys. Lupus can cause serious kidney damage, and kidney failure is one of the leading causes of death among people with lupus. Brain and central nervous system. If your brain is affected by lupus, you may experience headaches, dizziness, behavior changes, vision problems, and even strokes or seizures.
Kidneys About one half of people with lupus experience kidney involvement, and the kidney has become the most extensively studied organ affected by lupus. Lungs About 50% of people with SLE will experience lung involvement during the course of their disease.
Lupus and the intestines
Lupus can rarely cause vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels) in the intestines, sometimes called lupus enteritis. Symptoms include: Abdominal pain (pain in the belly area) Feeling very full or bloated.
Cardiovascular disease, not lupus itself, is the number one cause of death in people with lupus. (It is actually the number one cause of death around the world.) The number two cause of death for people with lupus is infection.
Many lupus patients aren't able to do intensive physical work, like waitressing or working in a grocery store. Jobs that involve standing for long periods, like working a cash register, greeting customers, or being a hostess at a restaurant, can be physically tiring as well as rough on the joints.
What is the risk of organ damage in lupus? Based on different studies, 10%-30%, 20%-40%, and 30%-50% of SLE patients have demonstrated organ damage at one, five, and 10 years, respectively. In early disease, higher damage index scores are associated with a poor prognosis.
Muscle and joint pain.
This affects most people with lupus. Common areas for muscle pain and swelling include the neck, thighs, shoulders, and upper arms.
Lupus can slow the digestive process, and this can cause a wide variety of GI issues. Digestive problems may be the direct result of an attack by the immune system or from medications to treat lupus. These digestive difficulties include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation.
This attack causes inflammation, and in some cases permanent tissue damage, which can be widespread – affecting the skin, joints, heart, lung, kidneys, circulating blood cells, and brain.
Your joints might feel tender and warm. You also might have pain in the joint itself. Lupus-related arthritis can be similar to rheumatoid arthritis, but your symptoms likely won't be as severe, with less swelling and stiffness in the morning. You're also less likely to have permanent joint damage.
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.
Some common symptoms of a flare include: A butterfly-shaped rash on the cheeks and nose. Rashes on other parts of the body. Pain or swelling in joints.
One person with lupus may experience malar rashes, kidney involvement, and memory loss, while another can have seizures, pleurisy, or hair loss. Though any of these symptoms could be a manifestation of lupus, they also could signal another, problem.
You should also be aware of symptoms that require that you see a doctor immediately. These include: Severe abdominal pain. Chest pain or shortness of breath.
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 ...
Palliative (pronounced PAH-lee-uh-tiv) care is a health care approach that tends to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of a person with an illness and the needs of his or her family. It can be offered to people at any age and at any point in an illness such as lupus.
People with SLE have episodes in which the condition gets worse (exacerbations) and other times when it gets better (remissions). Overall, SLE gradually gets worse over time, and damage to the major organs of the body can be life-threatening.
Lupus nephritis can also cause high blood pressure (hypertension). If left untreated, it can put you at risk of developing life-threatening problems such as a heart attack or stroke.