World Lupus Day: What is it and what are its symptoms?

May 10 is celebrated on World Day of Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system becomes unbalanced, producing antibodies that attack healthy tissues and organs. There are treatments to help control the symptoms, but lupus is not cured.

The disease affects cmore often to the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, heart and lungs. There are currently some 40 treatments in the clinical development phase, which is encouraging for those who suffer from lupus, because if it is positive, the disease can be controlled more effectively.

The symptoms of lupus

The first symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can be very variable, however, skin lesions, photosensitivity and joint pain or inflammation They are located as the predominant manifestations of these patients in 70/80% of cases, explained Dr. Vicenç Torrente, rheumatologist at the Regional Hospital of Vilafranca del Penadés (Barcelona), as part of World Lupus Day. . celebrated on May 10th.

So, joint pain usually affects the hands in the first placebut in the long term, it can be harmful for various organs and systems such as the renal, neurological or cardiopulmonary systems. He also pointed out that these symptoms may appear combined in some cases with badytical alterations and general condition. On the other hand, the expert pointed out that Most cases of lupus are diagnosed by rheumatologists, because they are those who present "a better knowledge of the musculoskeletal clinical evaluation and warning signs and badociated lesions typical of this disease".

Lupus is a systemic autoimmune disease who currently affects 75,000 people in Spain alone, as underlined by the study "Prevalence of rheumatic diseases in the adult population in Spain" (EPISER 2016) prepared by the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER). In this sense, the doctor pointed out that "once the disease has appeared, it is difficult to prevent the manifestations, because the different organic or systemic conditions will be more or less determined by the profile of the disease itself. even in each patient ". However, he stressed that early and effective treatment with immunosuppressants or immunomodulators can prevent more serious future effects.

Prevention of lupus

Thus, several clinical studies have concluded that Sun exposure can help prevent this disease and that patients receiving antimalarials for long periods have a lower incidence of kidney disease.

On the other hand, the project RELESSER (SER Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Registry), published in the journal "Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatismcuyo". and whose author is Dr. Torrente, identified a subgroup of patients at higher risk. severe complications, in which more intensive evaluation and treatment could reduce mortality.

However, in low risk patients, a stricter and more intense treatment would not be necessary and so "could avoid some of the side effects that immunosuppressive drugs can produce in our patients," said the expert.

Visibility of lupus

Although it is not a rare disease, lupus remains a disease to discover . Celebrities like Selena Gomez are the key when presenting and normalizing this disease in front of the public, in addition to helping those who suffer from it to identify and reflect on it.