Lupus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus) is a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease that can affect any part of the body. As occurs in other autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body’s cells and tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage.
Lupus is a disease that turns the body’s defenses against the body itself. Lupus occurs when antibodies attack the healthy cells in the body. Certain drugs can cause Lupus as well. Most cases have some family background to them, but in a few cases there is no apparent cause for the disease. The disease has been heavily researched and has been linked to other disorders, but only in theory, nothing is definitely stated for fact.
Michael Jackson suffered from both SLE and vitiligo. Diagnosed in 1986, and confirmed by his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, who presented legal documents during court depositions.
SLE is treatable through addressing its symptoms, mainly with corticosteroids and immunosuppressants; there is currently no cure. SLE can be fatal, although with recent medical advances, fatalities are becoming increasingly rare.

Dermatological manifestations
As many as 30% of sufferers have some dermatological symptoms (and 65% suffer such symptoms at some point), with 30% to 50% suffering from the classic malar rash (or butterfly rash) associated with the disease. Some may exhibit thick, red scaly patches on the skin (referred to as discoid lupus). Alopecia; mouth, nasal, and vaginal ulcers; and lesions on the skin are also possible manifestations.

Musculoskeletal manifestations
The most commonly sought medical attention is for joint pain, with the small joints of the hand and wrist usually affected, although all joints are at risk. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that more than 90 percent will experience joint and/or muscle pain at some time during the course of their illness. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, lupus arthritis is less disabling and usually does not cause severe destruction of the joints. Fewer than ten percent of people with lupus arthritis will develop deformities of the hands and feet. SLE patients are at particular risk of developing osteoarticular tuberculosis.

Cardiac manifestations
A person with SLE may have inflammation of various parts of the heart, such as pericarditis, myocarditis, and endocarditis. The endocarditis of SLE is characteristically noninfective (Libman-Sacks endocarditis) and involves either the mitral valve or the tricuspid valve. Atherosclerosis also tends to occur more often and advances more rapidly than in the general population.

Systemic manifestations
Fatigue in SLE is probably multifactorial and has been related not only to disease activity or complications such as anemia or hypothyroidism but also to pain, depression, poor sleep quality, poor physical fitness and perceived lack of social support.

There is no one specific cause of SLE. There are however a number of environmental triggers and a number of genetic susceptibilities.