Lupus (its full medical name is systemic lupus erythematosus) is a mysterious illness. Although various aspects of it were described as far back as the 1840s and it was recognized as a systemic disease well over a century ago, the cause is still unknown and a cure still elusive ((Bruijn JA, Van Elven EH, Corver WE, Oudshoorn-Snoek M, Fleuren GJ. 1989).
Like AIDS (the letters stand for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), lupus involves the immune system. There the similarity ends. Lupus is not transmissible from one individual to another; in no case has contagion even been suspected. In the majority of patients it does not prove fatal. And the illness is essentially the opposite of AIDS: The body's defenses don't falter or flag but become hyperactive, fiercely assaulting an individual's own tissues as if those tissues were offending intruders, foreign agents that must be destroyed or expelled. It s as if one has developed immunity to oneself, and lupus is classed as an autoimmune disease (the prefix "auto" means "self"); indeed, it is considered the prototype, the prime example, of such diseases (Bigazzi PE. 1994).
Some other autoimmune conditions involve a single organ or system; diabetes mellitus and Graves" disease, affecting the pancreas and the thyroid gland, respectively, are among them. In lupus, the targeted tissues may be any from the skin to the joints to vital organs, and evidence of lupus activity may range from a bothersome rash to critical kidney dysfunction. Lupus runs the gamut from a persistent nuisance to a threat to life in different people, or in the same person at different times. Lupus is a battle of the body against itself.
There is no cure, nothing that will vanquish the disease. Although there may be periods of remission when little or no treatment is necessary, lupus is chronic, a lifelong presence............
