LUPUS ERITEMATOSO SISTÉMICO

What is the "lupus" and what causes it?

It is a disease that in addition to affecting the joints and muscles, skin and can damage almost every organ of the body. The exact cause is unknown. It is believed that viral infections or the action of other agents that exist in the environment are those that trigger the disease, causing the reaction of the body's defense cells, wich produce antibodies against the individual. For this reason it is called as an autoimmune disease.

Seems to be a polygenic genetic predisposition, influenced by environmental factors, which facilitates the particular reaction of defense cells and hormones seem to matter, explaining that it is much more common in women than in men.

It seems clear the negative influence of contraceptives in SLE, suggesting that estrogen plays an important role in disease. However, menopause does not seem to affect the development of the disease, although the patients who develop SLE after it, have a less severe disease.

What symptoms gives the "lupus"?

•While it is likely that these symptoms may not appear in most cases, they should know them:
General: easy fatigue, unexplained weight loss and prolonged fever not due to any infection.
Joint and muscle pain and inflammation of the joints (arthritis), especially the fingers, wrists, elbows, knees and feet, or muscle aches.
•Skin: the best known is called "butterfly rash", which consists of a flushing of the cheeks and nose. Often hair loss is recovered with treatment and skin sensitivity to sunlight so sick that TB should use sun protection creams (sun protection factor greater than 15 and for lightning protection ultraviolet A and B) and use of clothing that covers the entire body as possible to avoid a possible reactivation of the disease.
•Heart and lungs may cause inflammation of the lining of the lung or heart (pericarditis or pleuritis), causing chest pain or side and sometimes fever, which usually respond well to treatment. In very rare cases can affect the heart valves or the heart or lungs causing respiratory failure.
•Kidney: is affected by frequency and severity is very variable, soliendo be treated successfully. Most often, inflammation or nephritis, which causes are not eliminated or waste products from the body and accumulate in the blood (urea) or other substances are removed in the urine, such as proteins, thus causing swelling of face or legs. Sometimes kidney injury causes increased blood pressure. Most of these conditions do not cause symptoms so it is convenient to carry out periodic checks to detect analysis.
•Brain and nervous system: the neurological complications of SLE are more common than you think and they are difficult to diagnose. They can range from a psychotic episode, to headaches, cognitive deficits or depression, and in rare cases other manifestations such as epilepsy or behavioral disorders. Sometimes, anticoagulation is a measure to consider if it is proven thrombotic cause. The involvement of SLE neuropsiquiátrcia reached, according to authors, up to 50% of those affected.
•Early Atherosclerosis: Do not know the cause but over time, these patients develop atherosclerosis, which increases the risk of cardiovascular complications. This alone justifies the removal of all known additional risk factors.
•Infections and "lupus". Patients are more susceptible to infection by the disease itself and sometimes the treatments used, so you should always consult a doctor if fever appear.
•Problems with pregnancy. The patient with "lupus" is equally healthy fertile women, although with a slightly higher risk of having abortions and premature births, which happens more frequently in those with some antibodies in the blood called antiphospholipid. The formal contraindications of pregnancy are when the "lupus" is active, there are complications of the disease such as nephritis or are taking medications that are harmful to the fetus. If there are no such circumstances, the pregnancy need not be discouraged. Children are born as healthy as the rest, although they and the rest of the family are more prone to the disease.
•Birth Control. If the disease is active birth control is necessary, preferably with condoms and creams to increase the barrier to sperm, and that the pill could cause outbreaks of disease and the IUD may encourage some infections, although the latter is not bad measure.



Diego Emmanuel Verduzco Rolón N/L: 43
Carlos Javier Lopez Ramírez N/L: 18