Lupus is a long term condition which is currently incurable although the vast majority of lupus patients respond very well to treatment.
Systemic lupus is a chronic and presently incurable illness of the immune system, a condition in which the body’s defence mechanism begins to attack itself through an excess of antibodies in the blood stream causing inflammation and damage in the joints, muscles and other organs.
The name systemic lupus implies that almost any organ or system within the body might be affected and lupus is perhaps the classical multi-symptom illness, deserving of far greater priority and investigation by the medical community.
Discoid lupus is a condition of the skin alone, and in a very few patients can develop into systemic lupus.
Lupus may be triggered by various means and can present in a bewildering number of ways, even to the extent of mimicking other diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis.
The causes of lupus are not positively known though research has provided evidence implicating heredity, hormones and infections including viruses.
Some 50,000 may have lupus in the UK and 90% of sufferers are female, mainly between the ages of 15 and 55.
LUPUS UK is the only national charity supporting people with lupus. LUPUS UK can be contacted by clicking on this URL: www.lupusuk.org.uk/contact-us
There are over 30 regional Groups within LUPUS UK and the Cambridgeshire Group is one of these.
Groups arrange medical talks, publish local newsletters, set up local occasions and organise fundraising events. LUPUS UK also produces an informative national magazine with lupus articles, letters, reports, and photographs, and operates a strong Grant Programme for research purposes and welfare.
