Lupus misguides the immune system, prompting attacks on healthy tissues and organs

Wolf at the Door

The Latin word for “wolf” is “lupus,” which is the shortened name commonly used for systemic lupus erythematosus, a chronic disease that misguides the immune system, prompting attacks on healthy tissues and organs.

Lupus may have received its name from the rash some lupus patients develop, making the face resemble a wolf’s face. Or perhaps the name refers to a disease that’s as relentless and unforgiving as a wolf. In any case, it’s a serious, sometimes deadly condition that can only be managed, not cured.

A member with the initials B.G. recently sent this e-mail: “I saw in USA Today where over 10 million women suffer from skin lupusand yet I have never seen you write one word on it.”

B.G. is right, this is the first e-Alert devoted to lupus. And to start things off I have some good news and somenot so good news.

All this, and more

Lupus is as mysterious as a lone wolf. The disease mostly strikes women during their childbearing years, although many men and young children are also victims. Most people who are diagnosed with lupus have a close family member with the condition. The wonderful southern writer Flannery O’Connor died of the disease in 1964 at age 39, about two decades after her father succumbed to lupus.

A wide variety of symptoms are common to lupus, making the disease difficult to diagnose. As I mentioned above, a rash on the face is typical, as well as hair loss, anemia, arthritis, mouth and nose ulcers, high blood pressure, fever, chest pains and seizures. In advanced cases the lungs, kidneys and blood vessels may be damaged. Making diagnosis even more difficult is the fact that symptoms tend to come and go, flaring up and then often subsiding for months at a time.

Now after those two paragraphs you might think I’ve already covered the bad news. But I haven’t. Here it is: Recent research shows that lupus may raise cancer risk.

The May 2005 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism reports on a Canadian study in which researchers followed the medical records for nearly 10,000 lupus patients for eight years. During that period more than 400 cases of cancer were diagnosed. When the rates of cancer in the general population were compared to the test group, researchers concluded that lupus patients may have as much as four times the risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and a sharply increased risk of lung cancer as well as liver-related and blood-related cancers.

The authors of the study suggest that doctors of patients who have lupus should be on the lookout for swollen lymph nodes or sudden weight loss and should not dismiss these symptoms as simply lupus-related.

Now for the good news

Lupus is conventionally treated with immune system suppressants, malaria medications and corticosteroids. In some cases these treatments decrease inflammation and address specific symptoms of lupus, but the side effects of the drugs can sometimes do more to complicate the condition rather than relieve it.

For many lupus patients there may be a safer way.

Omega-3 fish oils and supplements of copper have been shown to successfully address lupus symptoms in animal studies. And previous human studies have shown that lupus patients tend to have lower omega-3 levels compared to healthy people.

Researchers with the Northern Ireland Center for Food and Health (NICHE) at the University of Ulster recruited 52 lupus patients who were randomly divided into four treatment groups:

• Three grams of fish oil and three grams of copper daily
• Three grams of fish oil and a placebo copper
• A placebo fish oil and three grams of copper
• Placebo fish oil and placebo copper

After blood samples were taken and disease activity was measured at the outset of the study, and then at six, 12 and 24 weeks, researchers found a significant decline in the disease measurements for those taking fish oil compared to placebo. Copper had no significant beneficial effect. Fish oil had no apparent effect on inflammation, but skin rashes and neurological problems improved considerably.

In contrast to typical drug therapies used to treat lupus, none of the subjects in the NICHE study reported any adverse side effects.

Sources:
“Lupus Linked to Increased Cancer Risk” Reuters Health, 6/10/05, reutershealth.com
“The Clinical Effect of Dietary Supplementation with Omega-3 Fish Oils and/or Copper in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus” Journal of Rheumatology, Vol. 31, No. 8, August 2004, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
“Fish Oil Helpful for People with Lupus” Kimberly Beauchamp, N.D., HealthNotes Newswire, 9/23/04, pccnaturalmarkets.com