The study will seek answers to these and other questions posed by women with the disorder as well as by the doctors who treat them. The new study has already enrolled 50 women from clinics or private practices in Baltimore, New York City and Los Angeles, and will try to resolve the safety issues surrounding use of low-dose estrogen by women with lupus. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and other components of the National Institutes of Health are funding the study. Dr. Jill Buyon of the Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City is also a co-director of the study. Lupus is called an autoimmune disease because the person's immune system produces antibodies that attack her or his own tissue.
Black women are three times more likely than white women to develop lupus.
The fact that it can run in families suggests that genes are involved, but so far researchers have not been able to gather enough genetic evidence to prove the link. Both studies will measure the rates and durations of flares in the women. Of particular interest will be women who have had the disorder a long time. HRT may protect against heart disease and osteoporosis. Women with lupus, especially those taking prednisone, have a high risk of developing these diseases.