Genetics And Lupus Research Paper

Genetics and Lupus

Introduction

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects up to two million Americans[1]. The number of Americans actually affected may be much higher than this, because so many cases are mild and often misdiagnosed. As modern tracking methods were developed, patterns began to be evident. Most of the individuals who develop lupus are women, most are African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans, most present with lupus between the ages of 15 and 45[2]. With lupus diagnosed at the rate of approximately 16,000 cases per year, this disease had created a serious health problem in the United States and research into possible causes, risk factors for, treatment, and cures were developed.

Definition…show more content…
The symptom that has traditionally been associated with lupus has been the butterfly-shaped rash that appears across the patient’s cheeks, along with mouth ulcers and hair loss[5]. One of the reasons that lupus is so often misdiagnosed is that its symptoms are much like the symptoms of many other diseases. For example, lupus often mimics arthritis with joint pain, redness, and swelling. The warring antigens, anitbodies, and resulting stress on systems can often produce an abnormal urinalysis, leading to a misdiagnosis of kidney disease. If the lungs, heart, or abdominal organs are affected, then pleurisy, pericarditis, and / or peritonitis can appear and suggest lung, heart, or abdominal diseases. When inflammation of the lining of the lungs, the heart, and inflammation in the area of the abdomen appear all together, then this is called polyserositis and lupus is immediately suspected[6]. The blood can also be either a target of lupus or suffer collateral damage from the effects of lupus on other systems of the body. The names of the most common lupus related blood symptoms are hemolytic anemia, in which red blood cells are simply destroyed by the autoantibodies created by the body; leukopenia, which is simply a low white blood cell count that can leave the body defenseless in case of secondary infections; and thrombocytopenia, which is a low number of platelets, which are the…show more content…
Villarreal, J., Crosdale, D., Ollier, W., Hajeer, A., Thomson, W., Ordi, J., Balada, E., Villardell, M., The, L.S., & Poulton, K. (2001) Mannose binding lectin and FcRIIa (CD32) polymorphism in Spanish systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Rheumatology. 40: 1009 – 1012. Retrieved: Nov. 8, 2007 from: http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/40/9/1009?maxtoshow=&HITS=&hits=&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=genetics+lupus&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT 7. Ye, S., Pang, H., Gu, Y.Y., Hua, J., Chen, X.G., Bao, C.D., Wang, Y., hang, W., Qian, J., Tsao, B.P., Hahn, B.H., Chen, S.L., Rao, Z.H., & Shen, N. (2003). Protein interaction for an interferon-inducible systemic lupus associated gene, IFIT1. Rheumatology. 42: 1155 – 1163. Retrieved: Nov. 8, 2007 from: http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/42/10/1155?maxtoshow=&HITS=&hits=&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=genetics+lupus&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=20&resourcetype=HWCIT -----------------------
[1] Lupus Foundation (2007) About Lupus. Lupus Foundation of America. Retrieved Nov. 8, 2007 from: http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_aboutintroduction.aspx?articleid=71&zoneid=9s
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