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About SLE Cure

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic (long-term) autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in the body itself instead of protecting the body. The immune system is our body's defense mechanism. When healthy, it protects the body by making antibodies and Cytokines (blood proteins) that help attack foreign germs and cancers. In lupus, instead of producing protective antibodies, the body begins to produce "auto-antibodies," which attack the patient's own tissues, and an autoimmune disease begins. It is a multisystem auto-immune disorder without a known cure.

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Conventional medicine typically approaches the disease with a treatment plan that HANDLES the SYMPTOMS, rather than curing the disease as there is no cure available. It includes the use of corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), anti-malarial drugs, and chemotherapeutic agents (all have side effects in the long run). The results vary and safety is questionable, although some of the alternative medicine approaches have shown to provide some benefit in SLE studies, not total cure though.

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Symptoms

  • Low-grade fever (Around 102° F) and fatigue

  • Weight loss, hair loss in patches or along the hairline

  • Rashes:

    • a butterfly-shaped rash over the cheeks — referred to as malar rash/butterfly rash​

    • a red rash with raised round or oval patches — known as discoid rash

    • rash on the skin when exposed to the sun

  • Mouth sores/mouth ulcers: sores in the mouth or nose lasting from a few days to more than a month

  • Lung or heart inflammation: swelling of the tissue lining the lungs (referred to as pleurisy or pleuritis) or the heart (pericarditis), which can cause chest pain when breathing deeply

  • Neurological problem: seizures, strokes or psychosis (a mental health problem)

  • Kidney problem: blood or protein in the urine, or tests that suggest poor kidney function, SLE induced nephritis

  • Blood disorder – anemia (low red blood cell count), leukopenia (low white blood cell count), lymphopenia (low level of specific white blood cells), or thrombocytopenia (low platelet count)

  • Immunological disorder – abnormal anti-double-stranded DNA or anti-Sm, positive antiphospholipid antibodies

  • Arthritis: tenderness and swelling lasting for a few weeks in two or more joints

  • Abnormal antinuclear antibody (ANA)

Diagnostic Tests for SLE

Signs and symptoms of lupus may vary over time and overlap with those of many other disorders. No one test can diagnose lupus. The combination of blood and urine tests, signs and symptoms, and physical examination findings leads to the diagnosis.

Laboratory Tests

  • Complete Blood Count

  • Kidney and Liver Assessment

  • Urinalysis

  • Antibody Antinuclear Test (ANA)

  • Anti-dsDNA and Anti-Sm

Imaging Tests

  • Chest X-ray

  • Echocardiogram

  • Biopsy of Kidney

What Causes Lupus?

According to medical books, the cause of SLE/lupus remains unknown so far. It is NOT a contagious disease. It is not even hereditary even though sometimes it also appears in the children of the affected persons. But there are cases when it is not at all passed on to the next generation, so one can't be sure.

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Symptoms in some people may be triggered by the environment, sunlight, stress, chemicals and certain medicines.

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