Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) may affect any organ of the human body. When lupus affects the brain, spinal cord, or nerves, we call this neuropsychiatric lupus or neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE).
People with lupus can have cognitive symptoms, like having a hard time thinking clearly or remembering things. This is also called “brain fog” or “lupus fog,” and it often comes and goes over time. In some people, lupus fog can be present for many years.
The overall survival rates of the NPSLE patients were 89%, 85% and 84% at 1, 3 and 5 years, respectively. The standardized mortality ratio of NPSLE patients was 11.14.
SLE is the most common and most serious type of lupus. Other types of lupus include the following: Cutaneous lupus (skin lupus) is lupus that affects the skin in the form of a rash or lesions. This type of lupus can occur on any part of the body, but usually appears where the skin is exposed to sunlight.
With appropriate treatment and frequent clinical follow-up, lupus organizations estimate that 80 to 90 percent of people with lupus will have a normal life expectancy.
Class 4, or diffuse lupus nephritis
Class 4 involves damage to more than half of the glomerulus. A person will have high blood pressure. They may require dialysis as kidney function begins to worsen.
For severe cerebral lupus the addition of an immunosuppressive such as cyclophosphamide is extremely helpful and can reduce the severity and the duration of the brain disease.
Kidneys About one half of people with lupus experience kidney involvement, and the kidney has become the most extensively studied organ affected by lupus. Lungs About 50% of people with SLE will experience lung involvement during the course of their disease.
In general, lupus does more generalized damage to your body than MS, which primarily damages the nervous system.
Cardiovascular disease, not lupus itself, is the number one cause of death in people with lupus. (It is actually the number one cause of death around the world.) The number two cause of death for people with lupus is infection.
Palliative (pronounced PAH-lee-uh-tiv) care is a health care approach that tends to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of a person with an illness and the needs of his or her family. It can be offered to people at any age and at any point in an illness such as lupus.
Neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE), which is often referred to as central nervous system (CNS) lupus, can cause lupus patients to be afflicted with a variety of neuropsychiatric issues ranging from headaches and depression to seizures and a number of demyelinating conditions.
Lupus and its treatments can impair mental & emotional health. 80-90% of people with lupus. Neuropsychiatric lupus describes feelings of depression, headaches, and lupus fog — trouble thinking or remembering due to lupus. 25% of lupus patients experience major depression and 37% have major anxiety, research shows.
Neuroimaging of NPSLE Based on Pathophysiologic Features. Neuroimaging can be used to noninvasively identify CNS involvement in SLE (Table E2). Compared with CT, MRI is a more sensitive imaging modality for detecting intracranial abnormalities and assessing the chronicity and evolution of these abnormalities (23).
Although we observed abnormal signal intensities in the brain MRIs of the CNS group more frequently than in those of the non-CNS group, the PPV (42%) and the NPV (76%) of MRI for detecting active CNS lupus indicate that conventional MRI alone is insufficiently specific to serve as a diagnostic tool for active CNS lupus ...
What is the difference between MS and lupus? Multiple sclerosis (MS) and lupus are autoimmune conditions. They can cause similar symptoms, but they are different conditions. MS affects the nervous system, while lupus affects the skin, joints, body organs and, in some cases, the nervous system.
Whole-body symptoms — Most people with lupus experience fatigue, fever, and weight changes at some point in their illness. Fatigue — Fatigue is the most common symptom of lupus and can be debilitating. Almost everyone with lupus experiences fatigue at some point, even when there are no other symptoms.
Many lupus patients aren't able to do intensive physical work, like waitressing or working in a grocery store. Jobs that involve standing for long periods, like working a cash register, greeting customers, or being a hostess at a restaurant, can be physically tiring as well as rough on the joints.
Lupus is not a hereditary condition. However, genetic factors play an important role in developing lupus, and certain inheritable genes may increase a person's risk of lupus. Lupus is a chronic autoimmune condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue.
A neurologist may be part of your team in order to address the nervous system manifestations of lupus.
Lupus can affect your whole body, including your nervous system. Research shows as many as 90% of people with lupus have symptoms that involve their brain, spinal cord, or nerves. It's called neuropsychiatric lupus.
The exact cause of lupus fog is hard to pin down, experts say. In some cases, lupus can damage cells in the brain, leading directly to cognitive problems. However, in most cases other factors play a role, including fatigue, stress, and depression. Lupus fog is sometimes worse in people who also have fibromyalgia.