Spotlight on SLE. What, Why and How!

Do you know what SLE is?  Don’t worry,  most people are clueless, even medical professionals are clueless from time to time.  SLE is a form of Lupus, there are 2 types of Lupus, but for this article we are focusing on SLE only.  SLE or formally called  Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.  Lupus happens to be one of those diseases that when someone says they have it, we all say.. “Oh yeah, I have heard of that!”, but yet people don’t go home and Google it.  People don’t go home and look into it.  People don’t try and find out what the person that is suffering from Lupus is going through,  or what their family goes through.   I have chosen to focus on SLE because of the severity of the disease.  The main difference between the 2 types of lupus is that when internal organs are involved, and not only skin conditions, you have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Lupus is an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of various areas of the body.  Autoimmune diseases are illnesses that occur when the body’s tissues are attacked by its own immune system. The immune system is designed to fight infections and illnesses, such as bacteria and other foreign microbes. The immune system fights infections by producing antibodies that bind to the microbes.  Patients with lupus and primarily with SLE produce abnormal antibodies in their blood that target tissues within their own body rather than foreign infections.  Since the antibodies and cells of inflammation affect tissues through out the body, lupus has the potential to affect a variety of areas…some of them life threatening.  Sometimes lupus can cause issues with the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints, blood and nervous system.

Patients with SLE can develop different combination’s of symptoms and organ involvement.  The most common symptoms include:  fatigue,  fever,  muscle aches, arthritis, ulcers of the mouth and nose, facial rash, unusual sensitivity to sunlight,  inflammation of the lining that surrounds the lungs,  inflammation of the lining that surrounds the heart, and poor circulation to the fingers and toes with cold exposure. Complications of organ involvement can lead to further symptoms that depend on the organ affected and severity of the disease.

Most patients with SLE  develop arthritis.   Arthritis in SLE commonly involves swelling, pain, stiffness, and even deformity of the small joints. Sometimes, the arthritis of SLE can mimic that of rheumatoid arthritis.

More serious organ  inflammation may occur in the brain, liver, and kidneys.  Inflammation of muscles can cause severe muscle pain and weakness. This can lead to elevations of muscle enzyme levels in the blood.   Inflammation of the lining of the lungs  and of the heart  can cause sharp chest pain.   Studies have  shown that young women with SLE have a significantly increased risk of heart attacks from coronary artery disease.  Kidney inflammation in SLE can cause leakage of protein into the urine, fluid retention, high blood pressure, and even kidney failure. This can lead to further fatigue and swelling of the legs and feet.  Involvement of the brain can cause personality changes, thought disorders, seizures, and even coma.

There is no permanent cure for SLE.   Treatment is to relieve symptoms and protect organs by decreasing inflammation and the level of autoimmune activity in the body.   Many patients with mild symptoms may need no treatment.  Those with more serious illness involving damage to internal organ(s), swelling, muscle pain and breathing issues  may require high doses of corticosteroids in combination with other medications that suppress the body’s immune system.

Patients with SLE need more rest during periods of active disease.  Researchers have reported that poor sleep quality as well as stress  are significant factors in developing fatigue in patients with SLE.

SLE is a potentially serious illness with involvement of numerous organ systems, and can be fatal.   However, it is important to recognize that most patients with SLE lead full, active, and healthy lives.  The disease can go into a nonactive state and have periodic increases in disease activityor flare ups  which can usually be managed by varying medications.

On a final note, it should be stated that patients with SLE are at a somewhat increased risk for developing cancer.  The cancer risk is most dramatic for blood cancers,  but is also increased for breast cancer.  This risk probably relates, in part, to the altered immune system that is characteristic of SLE.

Lupus Stats from www.lupus.org

1. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that 1.5 million Americans have a form of lupus.
2. Although lupus can strike men and women of all ages, 90 percent of individuals diagnosed with the disease are women, and 80 percent of those afflicted with systemic lupus develop it between the ages of 15 and 45.
3. 20 percent of people with lupus will have a parent or sibling who already has lupus or may develop lupus.
4. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report in May 2002 which indicated that deaths attributed to lupus increased over a 20-year period, particularly among African American women ages 45-64. However, it is not clear if the rise is the result of an actual increase in lupus mortality or better identification and reporting of deaths due to complications of the disease.
5. While lupus is a widespread disease, awareness of the disease lags behind many other illnesses.
6. While lupus is a widespread disease, awareness of the disease lags behind many other illnesses.
7. While 65% of respondents to this survey claimed awareness of lupus, only 20% could offer accurate basic information about the disease.

The one thing about lupus and SLE is that,  it is not completely understood.  Its is not an openly talked about, mainstream, disease.  People that have Lupus suffer in silence, fearful of what they might hear.   Their co-workers, close friends and even family members do not fully understand how they are sick, why they are sick, and often treat them like it is psychosomatic.  In reality, if they took just minutes to read about it, they would become very scared.   If you ever hear someone say they have lupus, ask them how they are feeling.  Ask them if there is anything you can do.  Ask their husband or wife how they are doing, because they are almost always forgotten.  Lastly,  don’t forget their children, who live in fear every time the doctors rush their parent to the hospital for more steroids…. this is a disease that has long term affects, and children could possibly watch their parents suffer for years.  Since the treatments are “hit and miss”  and at times the drug combinations can make the patient as sick as the disease,  the combinations can at times seem to be continuously changing until you “hit” upon the one that the lupus responds to.

The key in my opinion is to not stop!  Never give up!  Try and bring awareness to the disease!  With more research and understanding MANY people could live pain free, illness free, fuller lives.

Kimberly Veautour

Acknowledgments:   Wikipedia, Medicine.Net, eMedicine

© 2010, KymberStyle. All rights reserved.

Tags: Lupus, Lupus symptoms, SLE, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus