2023-05-12 15:26:23
Currently, there are those who are not entirely clear about what the lupus. An autoimmune disease characterized by the production of antibodies that attack healthy tissues, cells, and organs. “More than 5 million people have lupus,” according to the Lupus Foundation of America. Thus, we tackle some of the false beliefs that exist around this condition.
What is the cause of lupus? It has no known cause, although research shows the involvement of genetic factors, hormones and even viral infections. The most common and habitual type is the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), its main symptoms are joint pain, face rash butterfly-shaped and debilitating fatigue.
For its part, the pharmaceutical company GSK warns: “Ignorance and low visibility of the disease have precisely caused it to spread false realities or myths about the pathology, such as that lupus is contagious and that it only affects women.
1. Lupus only affects women
Lie. It is believed that 1% of the population may have lupus in this country, of which 90% are women, mainly between 15 and 55 years of age,” they maintain from the Spanish Federation of Lupus. However, it is not a disease unique to women, men, children (pediatric lupus) and adolescents can also suffer from it.
2. There is no cure for lupus
TRUE. There is currently no cure for lupus, but the disease can be controlled with a lupus treatment program and proper monitoring. In this way, most patients can enjoy a normal life expectancy. “Systemic lupus erythematosus is, today, an incurable disease of the immune system, a condition in which our body’s defense mechanism begins to attack itself, creating an excess of antibodies in the bloodstream that cause inflammation and damage the joints, muscles and other organs”, maintain from the Spanish Federation of Lupus (FELUPUS).
3. Stress affects lupus patients
TRUE. From FELUPUS they advise reducing fatigue through rest and reducing the level of daily activity, reduce stress and to resolve depression, pain and anger, as well as avoiding direct sunlight exposure and also fluorescent lights.
4. Lupus is a skin disease
Lie. In fact, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, the most common of all —represents 70% of cases— it can affect any system or organ, the most common being joints and kidneys. But any internal organ can be affected. It evolves in the form of shoots, they maintain. Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus It is the one that affects only the skin. It is estimated that it appears in 10% of cases.
5. Lupus is deadly
Lie. Lupus it is not a universal fatal disease. In fact, with close follow-up and adequate treatment, more than 90% of patients have a normal life expectancy. Lupus varies in degree and intensity. “There are mild, moderate and severe cases of lupus which are more difficult to treat and control. The use of antimalarial drugs seems to reduce mortality rates,” they maintain. This does not mean that you cannot experience complications derived from your symptoms.
6. Lupus is contagious
Lie. Lupus is not spread by hugging, sharing food with someone with lupus, or shaking hands. From GSK they warn: “You cannot ‘catch’ lupus, it is an autoimmune disease.”
What can happen —informs FELUPUS— is what is known as Lupus neonatal: “A rare disease. It is when an infant acquires antibodies from its mother with systemic lupus erythematosus. Skin, liver and blood problems clear up in six months, but congenital heart block requires pacemakers.”
7. Women with lupus cannot get pregnant
Lie. Proper planning and monitoring allows many women with lupus to have a successful pregnancy, stand out from GSK. So going to a specialist in these cases is essential.
8. There is a rapid test to diagnose lupus
Lie. There is no single test that diagnoses lupus quickly, in fact”it can take several years before being diagnosed correctly,” says GSK.
9. Are you born with lupus?
Scientists believe that certain people have a “genetic predisposition to suffer the disease”; it means that they are born with the intrinsic possibility of developing lupus.
“The observation of a high concordance in the appearance of SLE in monozygotic twins (between 15 and 57%) and a higher prevalence of the disease (from 5 to 12%) among descendants of patients with SLE, are compatible with the important role of genetics in the pathogenesis of lupus. There is no single gene that causes a high risk of the disease”, reports FELUPUS.
10. Lupus patients cannot donate their organs
Lie or at least not in all cases. In the case of pure cutaneous lupus, which respects the internal organs, organ donation is perfectly possible. As for the systemic lupus erythematosuseverything depends on the organs affected by disease. Cutaneous-articular forms of lupus are not usually accompanied by heart, lung, kidney or liver damage, so organ donation is possible. In the case of the most serious forms that affect the kidney, for example, organ donation is usually not possible, reports FELUPUS.
References
Cortés Verdú R, Pego-Reigosa JM, Seoane-Mato D, et al. Prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus in Spain: higher than previously reported in other countries? Rheumatology (Oxford). 2020;59(9):2556-2562.
Lupus: definition, symptoms and treatment. Spanish Federation of Lupus (FELUPUS). Published in: Consulted: 10705/2023
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