Encouraging Health

Lupus

When I was an undergraduate with various symptoms (pre-kidney failure) the dr’s didn’t know what was wrong with me, and had thought I was developing Lupus. Here is what it is.

Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years. In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and germs (”foreign invaders,” like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues (”auto” means “self”) and creates autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.

Lupus is also a disease of flares (the symptoms worsen and you feel ill) and remissions (the symptoms improve and you feel better). Lupus can range from mild to life-threatening and should always be treated by a doctor. With good medical care, most people with lupus can lead a full life.
Lupus is not contagious, not even through sexual contact. You cannot “catch” lupus from someone or “give” lupus to someone.
Lupus is not like or related to cancer. Cancer is a condition of malignant, abnormal tissues that grow rapidly and spread into surrounding tissues. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, as described above.
Lupus is not like or related to HIV (Human Immune Deficiency Virus) or AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). In HIV or AIDS the immune system is underactive; in lupus, the immune system is overactive.
Our research estimates that at least 1.5 million Americans have lupus. The actual number may be higher; however, there have been no large-scale studies to show the actual number of people in the U.S. living with lupus.
It is believed that 5 million people throughout the world have a form of lupus.
Lupus strikes mostly women of childbearing age (15-44). However, men, children, and teenagers develop lupus, too.

Congress has again provided funding for critically important lupus research and education programs advocated by the Lupus Foundation of America. President Bush recently signed the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2009 (H.R. 2638). This legislation continues funding for important lupus programs, including basic, clinical and epidemiological research, and public education and awareness initiatives.

These programs include:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

In 2003, the LFA successfully advocated to have Congress provide funding for the CDC to expand the National Lupus Patient Registry (NLPR). LFA efforts have led Congress to triple funding of the NLPR since its inception. The NLPR will be funded at their current level of $3.122 million through March 6, 2008.

The NLPR is integral to completing the first national epidemiological study to determine the true national incidence and prevalence of lupus among all populations, and for determining the burden of the disease on individuals, families and society. This information also is important to LFAs efforts to stimulate additional investment by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop safe and effective therapies for lupus. It has been nearly 50 years since a new drug has been approved specifically for lupus and the LFA is supporting several initiatives to address this serious problem.

Department of Health and Human Services Department Office on Women’s Health

The appropriations legislation also continues funding for the Office of Women’s Health for initiatives to improve public awareness of lupus and conduct education projects on lupus. These efforts help to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of lupus, one of the LFA’s highest priorities.

In 2007 the LFA collaborated with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health and The Advertising Council to develop the first ever national public advertising campaign on lupus. The campaign is a three-year, $2.3 million effort to increase public awareness and understanding of lupus with an emphasis on populations most at risk for developing the disease.

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