Lupus, pronounced LOO-puhss, commonly called systemic lupus erythematosus, pronounced ur-uh-thee-muh-TOH-suhss, or SLE, is a chronic, autoimmune (pronounced aw-toh-ih-MYOON) disease that can damage any part of the body, including the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, heart, nervous system, and blood vessels.

In lupus, something goes wrong with the immune system. Normally the immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect our body against cancers, viruses, bacteria, and other germs such as foreign invaders like the flu. In lupus, the immune system is over active and produces increased amounts of abnormal antibodies that attack and destroy the body’s healthy tissues and organs. This causes inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.

Although lupus can affect almost any organ system, the disease, for most people, affects only a few parts of the body. For example, one person with lupus may have swollen knees and fever. Another person may be tired all the time or have kidney trouble. Someone else may have rashes.

People Who Can Get Lupus

Anyone can get lupus… but 9 out of 10 people who have lupus are women. It is estimated that between 161,000 and 322,000 adults in the United States have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).

African American women are three times more likely to get lupus than white women. Lupus is also more common in Hispanic/Latina, Asian, and Native American women.

African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos tend to get lupus at a younger age and have more symptoms, including kidney problems. Lupus also tends to be more severe in these ethnic groups. For example, African Americans with lupus have more problems with seizures and strokes. Hispanic/Latino people have more heart problems. Scientists believe that genes play a role in how lupus affects these ethnic groups.

Why Lupus is a Concern For Women

Having lupus increases your risk of developing other health problems that are common in women.

Lupus can cause these diseases to occur earlier in life:
1. Heart Disease – When you have lupus you are at increased risk for the main type of heart disease, called coronary artery disease (CAD). This is partly because people with lupus have more CAD risk factors, which may include:

• High blood pressure – hypertension.
• High cholesterol levels.
• Type 2 diabetes.
• Inactive lifestyle due to fatigue, joint problems, and/or muscle pain.

Heart disease is the number one killer of all women. But, women with lupus are 50 times more likely to have chest pain or a heart attack than other women of the same age.

2. Osteoporosis, pronounced OSS-tee-oh-puh-ROH-suhss – Women with lupus have more bone loss and breaks than other women. This is thought to happen because some medicines used to treat lupus cause bone loss. Bone loss also may occur as a direct result of the disease. Also, pain and fatigue can keep women with lupus from exercising. Keeping active is an important way to keep bones healthy and strong.

Other Less Common Types of Lupus

Although the term lupus (LOO-puhss) commonly refers to systemic lupus erythematosus (ur-uh-thee-muh-TOH-suhss) or SLE, this is only one type of the disease. There are other, less common types of lupus. The other types of lupus are:

Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (DLE)
Discoid (DISS-koid) lupus erythematosus (ur-uh-thee-muh-TOH-suhss), or DLE, is a chronic skin disorder in which a red, raised rash appears on the face, scalp, or elsewhere. The raised areas may become thick and scaly and may cause scarring. The rash may last for days or years and may recur.

Sometimes discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) causes sores in the mouth or nose. A doctor will remove a small piece of the rash or sore and look at it under a microscope to tell if someone has discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE). If you have discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), there is a small chance that you will later get systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). There is no way to know if someone with discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) will get systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus
Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (ur-uh-thee-muh-TOH-suhss) refers to skin lesions that appear on parts of the body exposed to sun. The lesions do not cause scarring.

Drug-Induced Lupus
Drug-induced lupus is a form of lupus caused by medications. The symptoms of drug-induced lupus are similar to those of systemic lupus, but only rarely will any major organs be affected. Symptoms can include:

• Joint pain
• Muscle pain
• Fever
• Rash
• Chest pain

Symptoms are mild for most people. Most of the time, the disease goes away when the medicine is stopped. More men get this type of lupus because the drugs with the highest risk of causing it are used to treat heart conditions that are more common in men, however, not everyone who takes these drugs will develop drug-induced lupus. Many different drugs can cause drug-induced lupus. They include:

• Antiseizure medications
• High blood pressure medications
• Antibiotics and antifungals
• Thyroid medications
• Oral contraceptive pills

The drugs most commonly connected with drug-induced lupus are:

• Procainamide – Pronestyl, Procanbid
• Hydralazine – Apresoline
• Hydralazine is an ingredient in Apresazide and Bidil

Neonatal Lupus
Neonatal lupus is a rare disease that can occur in newborn babies of women with SLE, Sjögren’s syndrome, or no disease at all. Scientists suspect that neonatal lupus is caused in part by autoantibodies in the mother’s blood called anti-Ro (SSA) and anti-La (SSB). Autoantibodies (“auto” means self) are blood proteins that act against the body’s own parts.

At birth, the infant may have a skin rash, liver problems, or low blood cell counts, but these symptoms disappear completely after several months with no lasting effects.

In rare instances, some babies with neonatal lupus can also have congenital heart block, a serious heart problem in which the formation of fibrous tissue in the baby’s heart interferes with the electrical impulses that affect heart rhythm. With proper testing, physicians can now identify most at-risk mothers, and the infant can be treated at or before birth. Neonatal lupus is rare, and most infants of mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are entirely healthy.

All women who are pregnant and known to have anti-Ro (SSA) or anti-La (SSB) antibodies should be monitored by echocardiograms (a test that monitors the heart and surrounding blood vessels) during the 16th and 30th weeks of pregnancy. SLE can also flare during pregnancy, and prompt treatment can keep the mother healthier longer.

Organizations

For more information on lupus, call the womenshealth.gov Call Center at 1-800-994-9662 or contact the following organizations:

Lupus Alliance of America
3871 Harlem Road
Buffalo, NY 14215
Email: info@lupusalliance.org
Website: www.lupusalliance.org
Telephone: 866-415-8787

Lupus Foundation of America
2000 L Street, N.W.
Suite 710
Washington, DC 20036
Email: info@lupus.org
Website: www.lupus.org
Telephone: 202-349-1155 or 800-558-0121
Fax: 202-349-1156

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association
22100 Gratiot Avenue
Eastpointe
East Detroit, MI 48201-2227
Email: aarda@aarda.org
Website: www.aarda.org
Telephone: 586-776-3900 or 800-598-4668
Fax: 586-776-3903

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
National Institutes of Health, DHHS
31 Center Dr., Rm. 4C02 MSC 2350
Bethesda, MD 20892-2350
Email: NIAMSinfo@mail.nih.gov
Website: www.niams.nih.gov
Telephone: 301-496-8190 or 877-22-NIAMS (226-4267)

Alliance for Lupus Research
28 West 44th Street, Suite 501
New York, NY 10036
Telephone: 212-218-2840 or 800-867-1743
Website: www.lupusresearch.org/

American College of Rheumatology (ACR)
1800 Century Place, Suite 250
Atlanta, GA 30345-4300
Telephone: 404-633-3777
Fax: 404-633-1870
Website: www.rheumatology.org

Arthritis Foundation
P.O. Box 7669
Atlanta, GA 30357-0669
Telephone: 404-872-7100 or 800-283-7800
Website: www.arthritis.org

S.L.E. Lupus Foundation
330 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1701
New York, NY 10001
Telephone: 212-685-4118 or 800-745-8787
Fax: 212-545-1843
Email: lupus@lupusny.org
Website: www.lupusny.org

Lupus Clinical Trials Consortium, Inc. (LCTC)
142 West 57th Street, Suite 15A
New York, NY 10019
Telephone: 212-593-7227
Fax: 212-593-3133
Email: info@lupus-consortium.org
Website: www.lupusclinicaltrials.org

Lupus Research Institute
330 Seventh Ave, Suite 1701
New York, NY 10001
Telephone: 212-812-9881
Fax: 212-545-1843
Email: Lupus@LupusNY.org
Website: www.lupusresearchinstitute.org

Rheuminations, Inc.
142 West 57th Street, Suite 15A
New York, NY 10019
Telephone: 212-593-5180
Fax: 212-803-0059
Website: www.dxlupus.org

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Telephone: 301-592-573
Website: www.nhlbi.nih.gov

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Telephone: 800-352-9424
Website: www.ninds.nih.gov

National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse
Telephone: 800-891-5390
Website: kidney.niddk.nih.gov

National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus
Website: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lupus.html

Source: www.ninds.nih.gov – February 2007, www.womenshealth.gov – March 2009