The course of the disease is very difficult to predict. Increased awareness of lupus in recent years has tended to result in the detection of milder cases, and there may be between one million and two million lupus patients in the United States. As with other autoimmune diseases, most lupus patients are female.
Lupus can be difficult to differentiate from other disorders in the early stages of the disease.
There currently is no laboratory test that is specific for lupus. Antibodies to this particle have been found in a very high percentage of patients with lupus. Researchers believe that these four disorders may result from the presence of HIAP together with genetic factors and some internal or external stimulus which all combine to dictate the specific symptomatology. Tulane has been awarded several patents on HIAP, and Autoimmune Technologies is licensing HIAP technology in order to develop diagnostic tests and therapies for lupus and the other disorders. For information about diagnostic testing, go to the Lupus Laboratory Test Page .