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Dise­a­se Profile

Lupus is an auto­im­mu­ne dise­a­se in which the immu­ne system attacks the body­’s own tissues.

The dise­a­se pre­sen­ta­ti­on is high­ly varied and dif­fers among all affec­ted indi­vi­du­als. Usual­ly, only a por­ti­on of all sym­ptoms appear: 

Joint pain, mus­cle inflamma­ti­on, fati­gue, skin rash, cir­cula­to­ry dis­or­ders, auto­an­ti­bo­dies in the blood, organ involvement.

Lupus ery­the­ma­to­sus occurs in two main forms: Cuta­neous Lupus Ery­the­ma­to­sus (CLE) (affec­ting only the skin) and Syste­mic Lupus Ery­the­ma­to­sus (SLE) (which can affect various organs).

Anti­nu­clear Anti­bo­dies (ANA)

The­re are anti­bo­dies direc­ted against cell nucleus com­pon­ents. They are cal­led anti­nu­clear anti­bo­dies and are abbre­via­ted as ANA. ANA can be detec­ted in 99% of lupus patients. 

Lupus is a dis­or­der of the human immu­ne defen­se. B lym­pho­cytes (cal­led B cells), under the super­vi­si­on of T lym­pho­cytes (cal­led T hel­per cells), form anti­bo­dies. The­se anti­bo­dies are direc­ted against the body­’s own healt­hy cell components. 

Arin­ger, M., Fin­zel, S. & Voll, R.E. |
Immu­no­pa­tho­ge­ne­sis of Syste­mic Lupus Ery­the­ma­to­sus. |
Z Rheu­ma­tol 83, 68–76 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00393-022–01214‑4

SLE cau­ses inflammation

When the immu­ne system attacks the body­’s own tis­sues, it leads to inflamma­ti­on. The sym­ptoms of such inflamma­ti­on include pain, swel­ling, red­ness, impai­red func­tion, and in seve­re cases, organ dama­ge. The term “syste­mic” in Syste­mic Lupus Ery­the­ma­to­sus indi­ca­tes that such inflamma­ti­on and pain can affect various organ systems. 

Sym­ptoms

Immu­no­sup­pres­si­ve Drugs

Immu­no­sup­pres­sants are medi­ca­ti­ons that sup­press the func­tion of the immu­ne system. They are often used in SLE. For exam­p­le: cor­ti­co­ste­ro­ids, aza­thio­pri­ne, myco­phe­no­la­te, metho­tre­xa­te, beli­mu­mab, etc. 

Tre­at­ment

The table pro­vi­des an over­view of which organs are affec­ted by the dise­a­se and how often: 

Affec­ted Organs /​ Body Regions
High
Medi­um
Low
Rare
Fati­gue, per­for­mance, etc.
Skin
Ner­vous System
Eyes
Mus­cu­los­ke­le­tal System
Lungs
Heart
Kid­ney
Dige­sti­ve Tract
Blood
Lympha­tic System
Repro­duc­ti­ve Organs