Lupus erythematosus

Lupus erythematosus is a collection of autoimmune diseases in which the human immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks healthy tissues. Symptoms of these diseases can affect many different body systems, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, and lungs. The most common and most severe form is systemic lupus erythematosus. Symptoms vary from person to person, and may come and go. Almost everyone with lupus has joint pain and swelling. Some develop arthritis. Frequently affected joints are the fingers, hands, wrists, and knees. Other common symptoms include: chest pain during respiration joint pain (stiffness and swelling) painless oral ulcer fatigue weight loss headaches fever with no other cause Skin lesions that appear worse after sun exposure general discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling (malaise) hair loss sensitivity to sunlight a "butterfly" facial rash, seen in about half of people with SLE swollen lymph nodes Photosensitivity is the amount to which an object reacts upon receiving photons especially in visible light. Photosensitivity is a known symptom of lupus, but its relationship to and influence on other aspects of the disease remain to be defined. Causes of photosensitivity may include: change in autoantibody location cytotoxicity induction of apoptosis with autoantigens in apoptotic blebs upregulation of adhesion molecules and cytokines induction of nitric oxide synthase expression ultraviolet-generated antigenic DNA It is typically believed that lupus is influenced by multiple genes. Lupus is usually influenced by gene polymorphisms, 30 of which have now been linked with the disorder. Some of these polymorphisms have been linked very tentatively, however, as the role that they play or the degree to which they influence the disease is unknown. Other genes that are commonly thought to be associated with lupus are those in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) family. There have been several cases wherein a single gene influence appears to be present, but this is rare.