Lupus Erythematosus.
Last updated Thursday, December 23, 2004
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AboutBasics of lupus erythematosus Systemic lupus erythematosus, also called lupus or SLE for short, belongs to the family of rheumatic diseases.
Rheumatic diseases affect joints,
muscles and other parts of the body, and often involve abnormalities of
the immune system. Lupus can affect not only joints and muscles but
also skin, kidneys, nervous system, lungs, heart and the blood-forming
organs.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the tissues of the body are
attacked by the overly active immune system and is treated by
suppressing the immune system.
There are two common forms of lupus: discoid and systemic.
Discoid lupus is a disease of the skin which is often chronic and
leads to scarring. It may be limited to the skin and not be associated
with disease in any other body systems. In other cases, discoid lupus
may be one of the features of the systemic form of lupus. This
information focuses on the systemic form of the disease.
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