Sunday is World Lupus Day. We’re raising awareness of Lupus and look at how stem cells are being researched to find a treatment.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease results when the immune system attacks the body’s own cells, in the case of Lupus it can affect the skin, joints and internal organs [1]. Lupus is a poorly understood autoimmune disease; there are several different kinds of Lupus:
•Systemic lupus erythematosus – The most common kind of lupus
•Discoid lupus erythematosus – causes a rash that doesn’t go away
•Sub-acute cutaneous lupus erythematosus – causes skin sores on parts of the body exposed to the sun
•Drug-induced lupus – can be caused by medications
•Neonatal lupus – a rare type of lupus that affects newborns. [2]
While it is thought that genes play a role in causing Lupus, the causes are widely unknown and it is thought that there are many triggers besides genetics alone.
There are treatments available to patients who suffer from Lupus, but as yet there is no cure. Stem cell transplants are being investigated by researchers as a possible treatment for Lupus but as yet this treatment is not available to the general public.
[1] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/lupus/Pages/Introduction.aspx
