Lupus is a rare disease with various manifestations. Characterized by skin lesions, it can affect different organs. Treatments can stabilize it.
- Lupus means wolf in Latin, as facial lesions can be compared to wolf bites.
- The pathology belongs to the category of connectivitis: systemic diseases that affect several organs.
- Between 20,000 and 40,000 people are affected in France.
It’s a “chronic affection of the skin characterized by the infiltration of the dermis by juxtaposed tuberculous foci, or lupomas”according to the Larousse. Lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease, which can be chronic or disseminated. In the first case, it mainly affects the skin, in the second case, several organs are affected.
How does lupus manifest?
Depending on the person, the disease can manifest itself in different ways. “The most suggestive symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus is a rash on the face, appearing during a flare-up of the disease.specifies theHealth Insurance. It takes the form of red patches, concentrated on areas of the skin exposed to the sun. “They take on the appearance of a mask in the shape of butterfly wings, around the eyes, on the nose and the cheekbones. They can be accompanied by a more or less marked edema (swelling of the skin), especially on the eyelids, hindering the opening of the eyes.adds the organization.
But the disease can also affect the joints and certain organs, in particular the kidneys or the heart. Thus, 80% of those affected suffer from joint pain, and often from the onset of lupus. They can appear in the fingers, the wrists, the ankles or the knees. In some people, the pathology can affect the kidneys: it affects the renal glomeruli, which have a filtering role in the body and can develop into chronic kidney disease. Lupus can also cause cardiac or respiratory symptoms, such as cough or chest pain, or even neurological disorders: headaches, epilepsy, depressive disorders, etc.
What are the causes of the disease?
Lupus is an autoimmune disease, that is to say that it is the consequence of a dysfunction of the immune system: it attacks the body. The causes of this disruption are multiple. Lupus could be linked to genetic, environmental but also hormonal factors, because the disease occurs in 90% of women of childbearing age. According to Health Insurance, UV rays, tobacco, exposure to viruses can also contribute to the onset of the pathology.
How to treat it?
It is not possible to completely cure lupus, but the disease can be controlled. As it manifests by pushing, there are asymptomatic phases. The aim of the treatments is to make them last longer. “The asymptomatic phases can thus last from a few weeks to a few years., notes the Health Insurance. To achieve this, doctors rely on different treatments that will control inflammation and prevent the reactivation of symptoms.
