Lupus or systemic lupus erythmatosus is an autoimmune disease which causes inflammation in various parts of the body. This inflammation is a result of the body's immune system attacking healthy cell tissue.
Lupus can affect the skin, joints, heart, kidneys, blood vessels, liver or the brain depending on which part of the body is being attacked. Because of this variation, lupus symptoms will differ from person to person.
Some people whose skin is affected will experience lupus as a minor ailment whereas others whose vital organs are affected can find lupus to be much more serious, even life-threatening.
The symptoms of lupus may be subject to intermittent flare-ups and then become less severe but they rarely disappear completely.
Lupus mainly affects young women of Afro-Caribbean origin. It is 9 times more common in women than men. About one in fifteen cases begin after the age of 50 and it is very rare amongst the over 60s. About 1 in 250-500 women of Afro-Caribbean origin are affected by lupus compared with 1 in 1000 Chinese women and 1 in 4000 white women.
