Describe the systemic features of SLE. How is SLE diagnosed and treated??

Systematic Lupus Erythematosus, SLE, is a difficult disease to diagnose as it can resemble other diseases. It is an autoimmune disease, meaning the bodys immune system attacks its own tissue. Though it is not proven to have a genetic component, it tends to run in families, and affects men and women, but women are more susceptible for reasons unknown (NIH, 2011). SLE occurs more frequently in Asians and African Americans, Native Americans (NIH, 2011). It may attack the skin, connective tissue, or internal organs (NIH, 2011). There is no known cure for SLE, so treatment involves controlling the symptoms.

The symptoms involve swelling and inflammation, superficially and viscerally. Depending on the area of the body affected, symptoms can also include sensitivity to sunlight, chest pain, heart problems, neurological dysfunction, weakness, a very distinctive butter-fly rash on the cheeks, headaches, swollen lymph nodes, coughing up blood, patchy skin color, kidney failure, thrombosis, and many others (NIH, 2011). A diagnosis is made, usually over time, by laboratory tests, including antibody tests, observing signs, and ruling out other diseases (NIH, 2011).

NIH, Initials. (2011, August 29). Systemic lupus erythematosus. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000435.htm