Lupus

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Lupus
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What is Lupus

• Chronic autoimmune disease
• Affects parts or all of the body including skin,
  joints, heart, lungs, blood, kidneys and brain.
• Your body is attacking itself
• The body cant tell the difference between
  foreign substances and its own cells and tissues.

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Types of Lupus

• Discoid (cutaneous) limited to the skin. Causes
  rashes.
• Systemic (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) can
  affect any and all organs. No two people usually
  have the same symptoms.
• Drug-induced drugs such as hydralazine and
  procainamide. 4 affected, men.
• Neonatal rare, passage of maternal
  autoantibodies.

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Who has it?

• 1.5 2 million Americans
• More than 90 of cases are women
• Symptoms and diagnosing usually occur during
  child-bearing years.
• In the U.S. lupus is more common in African
  Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans
  than in Caucasians.

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How do you get Lupus

• Genetics does run in families, but no gene
  identified.
• Enviornmental UV light, drugs, stress,
  hormones, infections.
• Drug reaction reversible condition that usually
  occurs in patients being treated for a long-term
  illness.

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Symptoms

• Ages 15-45
• Difficult to diagnose because of the variety of
  symptoms
• extreme fatigue, painful or swollen joints,
  inexplicable fever, skin rashes, kidney problems,
  loss of function either on the inside or outside
  of the body.

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Other symptoms

• Other symptoms include
• hair loss, chest pain, sensitivity to the sun,
  pale or, purple fingers and toes from cold and
  stress, headaches, dizziness, depression, and
  seizures, headaches, dizziness, memory and vision
  problems, strokes, or changes in behavior.

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Even more symptoms

• Anemia (low red blood cells), leukopenia
  (decreased white cells), thrombocytopenia (a
  decreased number of platelets in the blood.)
• Nephritis (inflammation of kidneys), coronary
  vasculitis (inflammation of the arteries),
  myocarditis, endocarditis, pericarditis
  (inflammation of the heart), pleuritis
  (inflammation of the lining of the chest cavity,
  vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels).

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Diagnosing Lupus

• Takes several months to years
• No single test to show lupus. Must rule out by
  doing several tests
• Some tests that can narrow it down are
• Certain blood autoantibodies, biopsy of skin or
  kidneys, syphilis test, complete blood count over
  several months, complements, urinalysis, Chest
  X-ray, antinuclear antibody.
• complements measures the blood level of a group
  of proteins.

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Treatment

• No cure
• Patients have treatment options that are specific
  to each individual.
• These include a variety of drugs
• Manage stress, exercise, dont smoke, healthy
  diet, avoid direct sunlight.

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Common Drugs

• Prednisone (glucosteroid)
• Oxycontin (corticosteroid)
• Methatrexate (trexall)
• Coumadin
• NSAIDs
• Antimalariais
• Immunosuppressive

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Alternative Treatments

• Fish oil these supplements contain omega-3
  fatty acids that may be beneficial.
• Flaxseed - contains a fatty acid called
  alpha-linolenic acid, which may decrease
  inflammation in the body.

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What to expect in the field

• Well never diagnose Lupus.
• Only way to tell is if the patient tells you.
• Calls might include stroke, chest pain, TIA,
  seizures, SOB, general pain.
• Be extremely cautious when transporting due to
• Osteoporosis, allergies to latex, veins that
  collapse easily and a myriad of allegries to
  different drugs.

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References

• http//www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/lupus
  /htm/_no_50_no_0.htm
• http//www.lupus.org/newsite/index.html
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupus
• http//www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?ident
  ifier4683
• http//vaxxine.com/lupus/facts.htm
• http//www.mayoclinic.com/health/lupus/DS00115/DSE
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