The autoimmune disease lupus is unavoidable but manageable
Feb 13, 2025
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It occurs when the immune system causes an abnormality and attacks itself, and it is chronically persistent while repeatedly worsening and alleviating symptoms, making treatment difficult.
Although the cause of the outbreak is not clear, it is known that genetic and environmental factors work in combination. If there is a lupus patient in the family, the probability of developing the disease is higher, and overwork, stress, ultraviolet rays, and smoking are known as risk factors. Some drugs, such as hydralazine, a treatment for hypertension, and prokaineamide, an arrhythmia treatment, are also considered to affect the development of drug-induced lupus.
Symptoms vary, with skin rashes occurring throughout the body, including the face, in 80-90% of patients.
In particular, symmetrical butterfly-shaped rash centered on the upper part of the nose is common. Joint abnormalities are also a common symptom observed in 3 out of 4 lupus patients.
As the tissues around the joint, such as tendons and ligaments, change, there are also mobility disorders in which fingers are severely stretched or bent. If lupus affects the kidneys, kidney failure or nephrotic syndrome can occur, but early diagnosis is difficult because there are no self-awareness symptoms until the disease progresses.
In addition, it can cause inflammation of the heart, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract, and can also cause blood diseases such as hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia. Neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety are also accompanied.
Blood tests, urine tests, chest X-rays, and kidney biopsy can be performed for diagnosis. In particular, autoantibody and complement tests are necessary, and antibodies that are common in autoimmune diseases are measured and used for diagnosis and identification of disease progress. However, since the initial symptoms are usually skin rashes or joint symptoms, patients often visit a medical department other than rheumatology first, making early diagnosis difficult.
Treatment includes anti-malaria drugs, pain-inflammatory drugs, adrenocortical hormones (steroids), immunosuppressants, etc., depending on symptoms. Severe lupus with kidney problems, severe anemia, platelet loss, and convulsions is treated with high-dose adrenocortical hormones or strong immunosuppressive therapy, which is a very specialized treatment and must be done under the judgment of a rheumatologist. Recently, biological agents have been developed and treatments such as B cell inhibitors (belimumab) and interferon blockers (aniprolumab) have been used.
Improving your lifestyle is also important. UV protection, sufficient rest, and maintaining a balanced diet can help treat mild lupus.
In particular, lupus can worsen when tired, so you need to take proper rest and stability consciously, and depending on the patient, even a small infection can worsen the disease, so you should always be careful in your daily life not to catch a cold or get infected with germs, and it is important to vaccinate against flu, pneumonia, and shingles in advance.
Professor Jeong Jae-hyun of the Rheumatology Department at Korea University Ansan Hospital said, `Lupus is a disease that can be controlled if treated steadily, but if not treated or stopped, it will rapidly worsen and likely not recover. Just 20 years ago, lupus was a very fatal disease with a five-year survival rate of less than 5% after the outbreak, but with advances in medical technology, it is now a treatable disease. However, as the symptoms and degree vary widely from mild to severe, it is necessary to consult with a specialist to provide customized treatment for patients.'
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
