As for the incidence of the disease, it varies according to geographical location and ethnic differences, as it is found in Italy, Spain and the Caribbean. In Caucasian people, the rate is 30 per 100,000, while in the Caribbean, the incidence is 200 per 100,000. And 90% of the infected are female, especially in the period of fertility and the proportion of females to males infected with 1:11, with a peak in the disease in the second and third decade of age (10-30 years)
Anti-autoantibodies are against at least 50 antigenes. Although the causes of antibody production are unknown, the mechanism is the exposure of antigens in cells during programmed apoptosis. This mechanism is supported by environmental factors associated with the stimulation of the disease such as sunlight, ultraviolet light, pregnancy, infection and the use of some drugs, which in turn lead to increased oxidation and apoptosis later. In people with genetic predisposition, the response to these stimuli is the formation of antibodies that attack the tissues of the body and cause infections and immune compounds
(Immune complex) which are deposited in the blood vessels and organs of the body.
The rate of thrombosis in patients with SLE has decreased over the past 20 years. Before 1955, the 5-year survival rate for patients with SLE was less than 50%
At present, the average survival rate for 10 years is over 90%, and the 15-year survival rate is about 80%. The main cause of death is related heart disease.
The low mortality associated with the disease can be attributed to early diagnosis of the disease, improved treatment of the disease, and progress in general medical care. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one-third of the deaths from SLE in the United States occur in patients under the age of 45, making this issue serious despite overall mortality rates.
• SLE is an autoimmune disease that affects connective tissue, thus affecting many of the body’s organs, including joints, skin, nervous system, kidneys, heart and lungs.
• A disease that affects females more than males, and peaks in the second and third decades of age, and spreads in Spain, Italy and the Caribbean.
• The most important factors that lead to the disease is the genetic predisposition of the infection in addition to exposure to antigens and the formation of antibodies and immune compounds that attack the tissues of the body and cause inflammation.
The symptoms and signs of the disease vary according to the affected body, and the symptoms and signs of the joints and skin are the most common is the arthritis and the emergence of skin rash on areas exposed to the sun, and the injury of the nervous system is convulsions and headaches in addition to the change of mental state of mental disorders such as psychosis and depression. The injury of the kidneys is kidney inflammation or nephrotic syndrome, and lung injury is mainly in the inflammation of the membrane of the lungs and resulting in the leakage, and the heart is the inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart, and inflammation of the heart muscle and resulting in heart deficit and irregularity in Heart rate, heart attack inflammation.
• Diagnosis is the occurrence of four or more of the 11 criteria set by the American College of Rheumatology, and the criteria are based on the clinical examination of the patient in addition to laboratory tests, which include examination of blood cells and antibodies.
• The advice to be given in the case of illness is to identify the patient and his family disease and side effects of medicine, avoid exposure to the sun and ultraviolet radiation and the use of sun protectors, and avoid overcrowded places for infection, and women should avoid contraceptive pills to prevent deterioration of the situation.
• Treatment includes anti-inflammatories and topical analgesics, and the use of steroid, the main treatment of the disease in addition to the use of immunosuppressants, especially in active cases of the disease. Antimalarial agents and biological agents are also used in this disease. Intravenous antibodies are used to exchange blood plasma in cases of bleeding in the lungs.
• Alternative medicine treatment using flax seeds, fish oils and omega-3, the use of Chinese herbs, the use of herbs rich in gamma linolenic acid such as spring flower oil and raisin oil. Avoid fatty meat and avoid peanuts and milk.