12/04/2012
Recommended reading: Fatigue in autoimmune diseases: Which non-drug treatments can help?
Tailored physical exercise programmes and energy conservation techniques can reduce fatigue in people who have multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.
PubMed Health. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. Atlanta (GA): A.D.A.M.; 2011.
A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia.
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Disseminated lupus erythematosus; SLE; Lupus; Lupus erythematosus; Discoid lupus
Last reviewed: February 14, 2011.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that may affect the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, and other organs.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease, which means the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. This leads to long-term (chronic) inflammation.
The underlying cause of autoimmune diseases is not fully known.
SLE is much more common in women than men. It may occur at any age, but appears most often in people between the ages of 10 and 50. African Americans and Asians are affected more often than people from other races.
SLE may also be caused by certain drugs. For information on this cause, see Drug-induced lupus erythematosus
Symptoms
Symptoms vary from person to person, and may come and go. Almost everyone with SLE has joint pain and swelling. Some develop arthritis. Frequently affected joints are the fingers, hands, wrists, and knees.
Other common symptoms include:
•Chest pain when taking a deep breath
•Fatigue
•Fever with no other cause
•General discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling (malaise)
•Hair loss
•Mouth sores
•Sensitivity to sunlight
•Skin rash -- a "butterfly" rash over the cheeks and bridge of the nose affects about half of people with SLE. The rash gets worse in sunlight. The rash may also be widespread.
•Swollen lymph nodes
Other symptoms depend on what part of the body is affected:
•Brain and nervous system: headaches, numbness, tingling, seizures, vision problems, personality changes
•Digestive tract: abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting
•Heart: abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
•Lung: coughing up blood and difficulty breathing
•Skin: patchy skin color, fingers that change color when cold (Raynaud's phenomenon)
Some patients only have skin symptoms. This is called discoid lupus.
Signs and tests
To be diagnosed with lupus, you must have 4 out of 11 typical signs of the disease.
Your doctor will perform a physical exam and listen to your chest with a stethoscope. An abnormal sound called a heart friction rub or pleural friction rub may be heard. A nervous system exam will also be done.
Tests used to diagnose SLE may include:
•Antibody tests, including antinuclear antibody (ANA) panel
•CBC
•Chest x-ray
•Kidney biopsy
•Urinalysis
This disease may also alter the results of the following tests:
•Antithyroglobulin antibody
•Antithyroid microsomal antibody
•Complement components (C3 and C4)
•Coombs' test - direct
•Cryoglobulins
•ESR
•Kidney function blood tests
•Liver function blood tests
•Rheumatoid factor
This list is not all inclusive.
