The Lupus Foundation of America Inc. indicates that the medical community currently has no cure for lupus. The disease tends to make you feel ill during the times your lupus "flares." The LFA also states that you may experience short or long...
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to overreact, making it hard for the body to distinguish between foreign invaders and its own tissues and cells. Because of this, the immune system forms antibodies, which causes the...
Because its symptoms can mimic many other diseases or conditions, it's not easy to diagnose systemic lupus. Also, different people with lupus have different symptoms. Your doctor has many pieces of a puzzle that he must link together in an...
Hundreds of diseases or disorders cause symptoms of aching joints, body pain and extreme fatigue. The distinguishing differences that indicate one cause over another include the extent, duration and location of the symptoms. Some symptoms are...
Systemic lupus erythmatosus is a condition in which the immune system attacks the organs and connective tissues. While any organ system may be affected, the skin, heart, kidneys and brain are the most common targets of the disease. Symptoms are...
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own systems and organs. This inflammation can damage joints, skin, lungs, kidneys and the heart. Lupus can cause inflammation of the heart muscle, the...
Prolonged and unprotected sun exposure can cause you to burn. You may learn your lesson and take precautionary measures the next time you venture outdoors. However, if you seem to burn or break out into a rash after minimal or protected sun...
Numerous health effects or conditions are associated with calcinosis or calcium deposits under the skin. According to the Arthritis Foundation, calcinosis is the medical term for calcium deposits that can form under the skin or in the muscles....
Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells, which grow and divide at an abnormally fast rate, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. These drugs often kill other healthy cells in the body--including those in the gastrointestinal tract,...
The Mayo Clinic estimates that approximately 2 percent of the population of the United States is living with fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness that causes widespread muscle pain or discomfort, fatigue, and body tenderness...
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection contracted from the bite of a disease-carrying tick. The causative bacterium is Borrelia burgdorferi. The symptoms of the various stages of Lyme disease mimic some of the common symptoms of the autoimmune...
Fibromyalgia is a misunderstood syndrome that affects approximately 10 million people in the United States, 90 percent of whom are women. Fibromyalgia is a collection of symptoms that is often difficult to diagnose and is frequently associated...
Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks your own body. According to the Mayo Clinic, inflammation caused by lupus can affect your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart and lungs. In addition, there are four types of...
Muscle strain is most often the result of overuse. When you force a muscle to repeatedly contract and relax for long periods, the repetitive movement can eventually stretch it beyond its normal capacity, resulting in damage to the muscle fibers....
Proper nutrition is important for good health, especially in individuals living with a chronic disease. Systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, is a chronic condition that can cause a variety of ailments. While not curable, the disease is treatable,...
Systemic lupus erythematosus--better known as lupus or SLE--is an autoimmune disease affecting the skin, kidneys, lungs, joints and other body organs. The immune system protects the body from infectious agents. To do this, it has a system for...
Lupus and Celiac disease, the sensitivity to gluten, are both conditions that present varying signs and symptoms. Each can be difficult to diagnose. Sometimes, however, doctors or patients mistake one condition for the other. However, trying a...
Many patients with chronic conditions such as lupus can struggle with maintaining proper vitamin levels in their bodies due to disease and medication. Vitamin D and potassium are two that can become greatly affected. Vitamin D has been linked in...
Systemic lupus erythematosus, often abbreviated to SLE and more commonly referred to as lupus, is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting an estimated 1.5 million Americans. It occurs when the immune system attacks the body's cells and tissues,...
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus are both chronic conditions that cause joint pain and inflammation. They are both systemic diseases, which means they can cause general symptoms such as fatigue, and they can affect various organs in the body....
Fibromyalgia and lupus share some common symptoms. "CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 2010" states that each condition includes the other in its differential diagnosis list. The similarities of the two illnesses appear so at the very early...
Lupus Fact Sheet
From the Lupus Foundation of America
What is lupus?
Lupus is a widespread and chronic (lifelong) autoimmune disease that, for unknown reasons, causes the immune system to attack the body's own tissue and organs, including the...
Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a chronic disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. MS destroys a substance called myelin, which surrounds nerve fibers and is necessary for transmission of nerve impulses. Many other diseases and disorders...
Lupus erythematosus is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the immune system. Lupus is a consequence of your immune system running amok and attacking itself. Although the exact cause of lupus remains unknown, some types of lupus can be caused by...
Lupus affects approximately 1.5 million people in the U.S., and 90 percent of them are women, according to data estimates from the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc. Although many people with lupus often also experience some form of allergy,...
Lupus is an autoimmune disorder with very debilitating symptoms. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, it is difficult to diagnose lupus, taking months or even years to get a diagnosis, in many cases. Experts do not know the real cause of...
Myositis is the medical term for inflammation of the muscles. This inflammation may be the result of disease conditions that solely affect the muscles. It may also be a symptom of one or more diseases affecting the muscles and other areas of the...
Fibromyalgia is a chronic rheumatologic condition characterized by muscular pain and stiffness, fatigue, disturbed sleep, headaches and mood disorders. According to a July 2007 review in "American Family Physician," the symptoms of fibromyalgia...
Joint pain is recognized as a primary or secondary symptom of several autoimmune conditions. Autoimmune diseases can overlap in symptoms and systems affected, and more than one autoimmune condition can be present concurrently in the same...