Healthy Living

The Early and Late Manifestations of Lupus

Later manifestations of lupus

There is no need to panic if someone has been diagnosed with lupus, lupus is not a fatal condition if diagnosed at the time, and treated aggressively. But still one needs to know the risks, as it may decrease the lifespan in some cases. Usually, lupus is more dangerous if it develops in young age, and is milder if it develops in late age (eg. Post-menopausal women). With proper treatment and knowledge of the disorder, a person can expect long term remission of disease. Yet, is some cases flares and complications are common. Usually, the survival rate at 10 years after diagnosis is above 90%. The three most common causes associated with almost 75% of fatal outcomes are complications of active lupus, infections, and thrombosis.

Thus what we can learn from the story of young girl and data from clinical research, that lupus is truly multi-organ, heterogeneous, systemic, an autoimmune disease. That is practically impossible to predict and can be triggered by the most unexpected environmental factors.

References

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2. Molina V, Shoenfeld Y. Infection, vaccines and other environmental triggers of autoimmunity. Autoimmunity. 2005 May 1;38(3):235–45.

3. Tucker LB, Menon S, Schaller JG, Isenberg DA. ADULT- AND CHILDHOOD-ONSET SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS: A COMPARISON OF ONSET, CLINICAL FEATURES, SEROLOGY, AND OUTCOME. Rheumatology. 1995 Sep 1;34(9):866–72.

4. Mok CC, Lau CS. Pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus. J Clin Pathol. 2003 Jul 1;56(7):481–90.

5. James JA, Kaufman KM, Farris AD, Taylor-Albert E, Lehman TJ, Harley JB. An increased prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus infection in young patients suggests a possible etiology for systemic lupus erythematosus. J Clin Invest. 1997 Dec 15;100(12):3019–26.

6. Cervera R, Khamashta MA, Font J, Sebastiani GD, Gil A, Lavilla P, et al. Morbidity and Mortality in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus During a 10-Year Period: A Comparison of Early and Late Manifestations in a Cohort of 1,000 Patients. Medicine (Baltimore) [Internet]. 2003;82(5). Available from: http://journals.lww.com/md-journal/Fulltext/2003/09000/Morbidity_and_Mortality_in_Systemic_Lupus.2.aspx