Have you or your loved one been recently diagnosed with lupus? With no known cure, lupus may be a scary diagnosis. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects roughly 1.5 million Americans — many of them female. Lupus causes chronic inflammation of the skin, kidneys, joints, brain and other organs. Symptoms may include hair loss, chest pain when breathing deeply, fatigue, mouth sores, fever, sensitivity to sunlight, swollen lymph nodes or a “butterfly” rash on the face that gets worse in sunlight. The cause of lupus is unknown, but the pain and symptoms of this disease can be treated. Read on for some information and advice about what lies ahead from Anca Askanase, MD, a professor and lupus researcher at New York University’s School of Medicine.
