Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease which causes inflammation of various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, blood and kidneys. The body's immune system normally makes proteins called antibodies to protect the body against viruses, bacteria and other foreign materials. These foreign materials are called ANTIGENS. In an autoimmune disorder such as Lupus, the immune system loses its ability to tell the difference between foreign substances (antigens) and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against "self." These antibodies, called "auto-antibodies" react with the "self" antigens to form immune complexes. The immune complexes build up in the tissues and cause inflammation, injury to tissues, and pain.
             More people have Lupus than AIDS, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, sickle-cell anemia, and cycsic fibrosis combined. Lupus Foundation of America market research data show that between 1.4 and 2 MILLION people reported to have been diagnosed with Lupus. For most people, Lupus in a mild disease affecting only a few organs, but for others, it can be serious, or even life threatening.
             "Lupus" is Latin for the word "wolf," and it is common medical lore that the "butterfly rash" seen on the cheeks of many Lupus patients is so similar to the markings of a wolf. The medical name for the disease that we know of as Lupus-Lupus Erythmatosus-was first applied to a skin disorder by a Frencham, Pierre Cazenave, in 1851, though descriptive articles detailing the condition date back to Hippocrates in ancient greece.
             Lupus is often called a woman's disease despite the fact that men can be affected as well. Lupus can occur, at any age, in any sex, although it occurs 10-15 times more frequently among adult females than adult males. The symptoms of the disease are the same in men and in women.
             Lupus is a chronic inflammatory condition caused by an autoimmune disease. Autoi...