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Sys­tem­ic Lupus Erythematosus

Sys­tem­ic lupus eryth­em­atosus (SLE) is a rare autoim­mune dis­ease and is clas­si­fied among inflam­mat­ory rheum­at­ic diseases.

The symp­toms of lupus are very diverse and vary from per­son to per­son. Com­mon symp­toms include: joint pain, fatigue, but­ter­fly rash (skin rash), unex­plained fever, organ involve­ment (kid­neys, heart, lungs, nervous system). 

Sys­tem­ic lupus eryth­em­atosus belongs to the group of con­nect­ive tis­sue dis­eases (also called col­la­gen­oses), mean­ing it is a con­nect­ive tis­sue disorder.

In lupus, the immune sys­tem attacks the body’s own con­nect­ive tis­sue and causes inflam­ma­tion. The con­nect­ive tis­sue is found in 80% of the body. It is the tis­sue that con­nects, sep­ar­ates, and sup­ports all oth­er types of tis­sue in the body.

Lupus is a rare disease

One in 14 people in Switzer­land lives with a rare disease.

Cur­rently, 7,000–8,000 rare dis­eases are known world­wide. One in 14 people in Switzerland—around 580,000 people—live with a rare dis­ease. One of these rare dis­eases is lupus, which is estim­ated to affect around 3,000 people in Switzer­land (30–50 per 100,000 inhabitants). 

Some facts about lupus

  • Approx­im­ately 90% of those affected are women.
  • Lupus is chron­ic, occurs in irreg­u­lar flare-ups, and is very indi­vidu­al in each per­son affected.
  • Lupus is neither psycho­so­mat­ic nor con­ta­gious, nor is it dir­ectly hereditary. 
  • Lupus is cur­rently not cur­able. Depend­ing on which organs are affected, lupus may present as a mild, severe, or life-threat­en­ing disease. 
  • For those affected, it can be dis­tress­ing that lupus is unknown in their imme­di­ate envir­on­ment and in pub­lic, and is often invisible.

The but­ter­fly rash as a typ­ic­al symp­tom of the disease

The term “lupus” is derived from the Lat­in word for “wolf”.

In the past, the scars that remained after the facial rash (but­ter­fly rash) healed were com­pared to scars from wolf bites. Today, thanks to mod­ern treat­ment options, such scars are now rare. “Eryth­em­atosus” means “reddened”, i.e., red­dish and inflamed. 

You will find ini­tial, import­ant inform­a­tion in these documents.