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Lupus
Lupus, an autoimmune disease, happens when the immune system attacks its tissues, causing inflammation, swelling, pain, and damage. Lupus symptoms vary, and early lupus symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, fever, and a lupus rash, especially after being in the sun.
Treatment
Medications
Due to the variety of symptoms and organ system involvement with SLE, its severity in an individual must be assessed in order to successfully treat SLE. Mild or remittent disease can sometimes be safely left untreated. If required, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antimalarials may be used.
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are used preventively to reduce the incidence of flares, the process of the disease, and lower the need for steroid use; when flares occur, they are treated with corticosteroids. DMARDs commonly in use are antimalarials and immunosuppressants (e.g. methotrexate and azathioprine). Hydroxychloroquine is an FDA-approved antimalarial used for constitutional, cutaneous, and articular manifestations, whereas cyclophosphamide is used for severe glomerulonephritis or other organ-damaging complications. In 2005, mycophenolic acid became accepted for treatment of lupus nephritis.
Immunosuppressive drugs
In more severe cases, medications that modulate the immune system (primarily corticosteroids and immunosuppressants) are used to control the disease and prevent recurrence of symptoms (known as flares). Depending on the dosage, people that require steroids may develop side-effects such as central obesity, puffy round face, diabetes mellitus, large appetite, difficulty sleeping and osteoporosis. Those side-effects can subside if and when the large initial dosage is reduced, but long-term use of even low doses can cause elevated blood pressure and cataracts.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
Avoiding sunlight is the primary change to the lifestyle of SLE sufferers, as sunlight is known to exacerbate the disease. Drugs unrelated to SLE should be prescribed only when known not to exacerbate the disease. Occupational exposure to silica, pesticides and mercury can also make the disease worsen.
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