Lupus: how is the disease transmitted and its clinical picture

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a representative of systemic connective tissue diseases( systemic collagenoses) in which inflammatory processes are triggered in the body under the influence of autoimmune antibodies produced to their own healthy cells and tissues.

In this case, characteristic changes can occur in virtually any system of the human body, because connective tissue is an indispensable component of each organ.

To date, none of the studies conducted by rheumatologists have been able to find a cause, the effect of which on the body changes the normal responses of the immune response, but the effect of predisposing factors capable of causing characteristic disturbances( the more such factors, the heavier the course of the disease).

In addition, special conditions of the human body have been discovered, in which markers are found that indicate an immune response, but does not develop. Symptoms of lupus erythematosus in this case are not detected even with the most thorough clinical and instrumental examination of the patient.

Why does lupus occur?

In cases where the patient, more often a patient, has systemic lupus erythematosus - the causes of the disease can not be detected even with a thorough examination.

In some cases, specific antiviral antibodies to the Epstein-Barr virus are detected in patients, which makes it possible to refer the disease to the so-called "slow infections", whereas in all patients with prolonged existence of lupus, antibodies to virtually all tissues of the body and individual cell components.

There is information about the effect of hormonal imbalance on the possibility of developing lupus - the highest incidence is found in adolescent girls during puberty or in women during the extinction of the reproductive system of the body, as well as the presence of a genetic predisposition systemic lupus erythematosus is often identified among members of the same family.

That's why women with a predisposition to lupus are categorically not recommended for taking hormonal contraceptives, and in the process of family planning they are not advised to resort to abortion - a sudden change in the hormonal background can trigger the disease itself or cause an exacerbation.

When answering the question - if lupus is contagious, doctors say that long-term studies have proved the impossibility of transmitting this disease as a common infection.

The Epstein-Barr virus, the causative agents of rubella or other viral infections, can only provoke failures in the activity of the immune system and trigger the mechanism of active production of antibodies to the body's own tissues, primarily to the connective tissue.

This is why the most characteristic lesion in case of lupus is pathological processes in the skin, organs of the musculoskeletal system, heart and large blood vessels, lungs, kidneys, nervous tissue, hematopoietic organs.

How is the disease transmitted?

If we talk about how the lupus erythematosus is transmitted, then the disease itself does not spread in the usual notion of this word for the majority of people - an immune response may be violated in man, and any provoking factors only stimulate excessive production of antibodies to the tissues of the body in sensitive patients.

Provoking factors consider:

• changes in the hormonal background;
• abortion;
• use of certain drugs - drug lupus erythematosus can go on independently after stopping the drug, which triggered the development of immune disorders;
• superfluous solar insolation;
• vaccination;
• excessive physical stress and psychological stress.

Clinical picture of

Depending on the severity of the symptoms of the disease and the severity of the patient's condition,

• is distinguished by an acute form of SLE, which is characterized by severe multi-organ damage of almost all organs and systems of the body.

The disease begins with a high temperature, signs of severe intoxication of the body, increasing symptoms of respiratory, cardiovascular, excretory, nervous systems. If a timely treatment is not initiated, the disease can cause the patient to die;

• subacute lupus erythematosus has a milder course and the symptoms of multiple organ failure in the absence of treatment develop in 2-3 years, but the use of the possibilities of modern medicine can reliably control the activity of autoimmune inflammation;

• is a chronic form of SLE - it is characterized by the fact that it develops slowly progressive lupus erythematosus - a cutaneous form of the disease, in which a specific characteristic lesion of joints and skin comes to the fore.

In the event that cutaneous lupus erythematosus is not detected in a timely manner, and accordingly, measures that prevent the generalization of the autoimmune inflammatory process are not carried out, symptoms of internal organ damage are revealed after a sufficiently long time.