World Lupus Day 2007

Thursday May 10, 2007

May 10th is the fourth annual World Lupus Day. Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system produces antibodies which target the body's own healthy cells. It's conservatively estimated that more than 5 million people in the world have a type of lupus and 100,000 new cases of lupus develop each year.

At the present time, lupus has no cure and can be fatal. It spares no organ - every part of the body can be affected by lupus. There have been no new drugs developed for lupus in over 40 years. Medications used to control lupus are borrowed from other diseases. According to The Lupus Foundation of America, World Lupus Day focuses on:

the need for improved physician diagnosis of lupus
the need for improved treatment of lupus
better patient healthcare services for lupus patients
the need for more research into the causes and cure for lupus
the need for better worldwide epidemiological research providing global awareness and understanding of lupus

Lupus affects 10 times more women than men. Though lupus can develop at any age, disease onset usually occurs between the ages of 15 and 45 years old. Lupus is a complex disease. Lupus symptoms may often resemble symptoms associated with other types of arthritis, making lupus difficult to diagnose.

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