The Great Mimicker Revealed
Having Lupus is no easy feat, but what`s often more difficult is being diagnosed with it. Often you will hear it referred to as the great mimicker or the great imitator because its symptoms vary so widely that it can often be mistaken for other disorders. Systemic lupus erythematous (usually called simply lupus or SLE) is a serious autoimmune disorder that afflicts the joints, kidneys and skin. Though lupus can be fatal there are far more treatment options than ever before. Let`s start out with the basics:
There is no known cause for lupus which makes narrowing down the diagnoses so much more difficult. There are theories that there may be a genetic predisposition through either heredity or a possible gene that can be triggered off by an occurrence later on in life but nothing that has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. SLE develops when the body`s own immune system, which on a normal basis protects against cancer and invading infections, attacks the person`s own tissues (medically known as loss of self-tolerance). This occurs first through the body`s production of auto-antibodies (antibodies are immune system cells that attack foreign microbes, whereas auto-antibodies attack a person`s own cells). As the auto-antibodies continue their attack, other immune system cells join in the fight. This will lead to inflammation, blood vessel abnormalities (vasculitis) and deposition of the immune system cells in organs which causes further tissue damage.
The four recognized forms/types of lupus:
Systemic Lupus Erythematous: the most common form of lupus, and is what most people mean when they refer to `lupus`. Systemic lupus can be mild or severe. Some of the more serious complications involving major organ systems
Cutaneous (skin) Lupus Erythematous: this form of lupus is limited to the skin. Although cutaneous lupus causes many types of rashes and lesions (sores), the most common rash is raised, scaly and red, but not itchy.
Drug-induced Lupus Erythematous: this is a `lupus-like` disease triggered by certain prescriptions dugs. The symptoms are comparable to that of SLE but rarely will it affect any major organs.
Neonatal Lupus: a rare condition that affects infants whose mothers have lupus. It is triggered by the antibodies from the mother acting upon the infant while still in the womb.
If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with one of the four forms of this disease, understanding lupus will provide you with a road map to how to manage living with the effects of this disorder. This is the first step on our journey of helping you to understand this disease that is gradually becoming more common.
