What is lupus and how is it treated? My sister-in-law who is hispanic was just diagnosed. They say it’s more common in this ethnic group. Other than that, we don’t know much about this problem.

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder. Autoimmune means that the immune system mistakenly attacks body parts in an effort to get rid of them. Why a person’s immune system sees your own body as foreign or something to attack remains a mystery.

In any case, the immune system can no longer tell the difference between healthy and harmful tissues in the body so it starts to attack healthy organs. Lupus is associated with inflammation, joint pain, and arthritis.

Lupus can affect just the skin (face, neck, scalp). This condition is called discoid lupus. Or it can target organs and any system in the body. This second form of lupus is called systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE.

According to the Lupus Foundation of America about 1.5 million Americans have some form of lupus. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) rarely develops in older people. It is primarily a disease of young women in their childbearing years. Men and children can develop lupus but this happens much less often than in women.

Lupus (SLE) is three times more common in African American women than in Caucasian women and is also more common in women of Hispanic, Asian, and Native American descent. It is believed that both genetic and environmental factors play a role in the development of the disease.

Other risk factors include physical or mental stress, which can provoke neuroendocrine changes affecting immune cell function; streptococcal or viral infections; exposure to sunlight or ultraviolet light, which can cause inflammation and tissue damage; immunization; pregnancy; and abnormal estrogen metabolism.

There is currently no cure, only treatments to manage lupus. The standard treatment has been with corticosteroids (antiinflammatory drugs) and medications that suppress the overactive immune system.

Drugs to treat malaria have also been helpful. In March of 2011, the FDA approved a drug called Benlysta (belimumab), giving patients with lupus a new treatment option. This is the first drug to be specifically designed for lupus patients.

Benlysta may allow patients to reduce the amount of corticosteroids they are currently using to manage the inflammatory symptoms of lupus. And that’s important because these drugs can do more organ damage over the long term than the disease itself. In addition to reduced lupus symptoms, patients receiving this new drug reported fewer flare-ups, less fatigue, and better quality of life.