Lupus is a common disease and yet many people have not even heard of it. It is said that lupus affects more people than multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and leukemia. The treatment of lupus is difficult because of this massive ignorance when it comes to the disease. So what is lupus?Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the sufferer’s own body turns on itself. Antibodies are created that start attacking the body instead of protecting it. Some of the symptoms resemble those of other diseases so the treatment of lupus often goes ignored.
There are considered to be four main types of lupus: discoid, systemic, drug-induced and neonatal lupus.
Discoid type lupus always affects the skin. It is characterized by a rash that appears on the face, neck, and scalp. Discoid lupus can be diagnosed by taking a biopsy of the rash and performing tests. The biopsy will show certain anomalies that are not present in skin without the rash. Discoid lupus usually will not involve problem with the body’s internal organs.
Systemic lupus is found to be more severe than the previously mentioned discoid lupus, because it affects almost any organ or organ system of the body. It differs from person to person; for some people only the skin and joints may be involved.
Drug-induced lupus can occur after the use of certain prescribed medications. One of the tricky things about this form of lupus is that the symptoms are similar to those of systemic lupus. The two medications that are most connected with drug-induced lupus are hydralazine and procainamide.
Neonatal lupus is a rare and serious condition that is acquired from the passage of maternal auto-antibodies. This particular type of lupus can affect the skin, heart and blood of the fetus and newborn child.