Systemic lupus erythematosus (patient information)

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Jinhui Wu, MD

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How do I know if I have systemic lupus erythematosus and what are the symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus?

Symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus vary from person to person, depending the organs affected. And the symptoms may come and go.

• The most common symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus

• Fatigue
• Low fever
• Muscle pain
• Joint pain
• Lost of appetite
• Facial butterfly rash
• Sensitivity to sunlight
• Chest pain
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Abnormal blood clotting

• Other symptoms depends on the orgnas affected.

• Headache, new paralysis, or seizures
• Personality change, even psychosis
• Arrhythmias
• Abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting
• Hematuria

Who is at risk for systemic lupus erythematosus?

The underlying cause of this autoimmune disease is not clear. Clinical data show the onset of systemic lupus erythematosus ia associated with the following factors:

• Female: SLE affects nine times as many women as men.
• Age: From 10 to 50
• Race: African Americans and Asians are affected more often than people from other races.
• Drugs, such as chlorpromazine, hydralazine, isoniazid, methyldopa, penicillamine, procainamide, quinidine and sulfasalazine.

How to know you have systemic lupus erythematosus?

The American College of Rheumatology has designated 11 criteria for classification. If the patient has four or more criteria, he/she can be diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus.

• Malar rash: This butterfly rash below the eyes may be flat or elevated.
• Discoid rash: These are red, raised patches with scaling of the overlying skin. A subgroup of patients have "discoid lupus" with only skin involvement and do not have systemic lupus erythematosus. All patients with discoid lupus should be screened for systemic involvement.
• Sensitivity to sunligh: A rash develops in response to sun exposure.
• Oral ulcers: The doctor can observe painless sores in the nose or mouth.
• Arthritis: The arthritis of lupus usually demonstrate swelling and tenderness of the joints.
• Serositis: This means an inflammation of various "sacs" or membranes, such as pericarditis, pleurisy or peritonitis. Patients with these inflammations may demonstrate symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, or forced posture.
• Kidney disease: Patients with lupus may demonstrate persistent loss of protein, or inflammation during analysis of the urine.
• Neurological disorder: Patients with lupus may show paralysis, or seizures, personality change, even psychosis.
• Blood disorder: Patients with lupus may show low blood counts of various blood components.
• Immunologic disorder: It includes some antibody tests, such as anti-double strand (ds) DNA, anti-phospholipid antibodies and anti-smith antibodies.

Patients with lupus may show positive results of these tests.

• Positive antinuclear antibody: It is a very valuable test to rule out lupus. More than 98% of patients with lupus have a positive ANA test result.

Where to find medical care for systemic lupus erythematosus?

Directions to Hospitals Treating systemic lupus erythematosus

Copyleft Sources

http://www.medicinenet.com/systemic_lupus/article.htm

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000435.htm

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets_pdf/SLE_09.pdf

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/809378-overview

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/lupus_systemic_lupus_erythematosus/article_em.htm