While the total number who have lupus is unknown, researchers estimate that the disease strikes 1 in 400 Caucasian women and 1 in 250 African American women. An Attack from Within With lupus, there's a glitch in the immune system. Instead of performing its normal duty of fighting off infections, the immune system demolishes normal tissue, says Michelle Petri, M.D., associate professor of medicine and co-director of the Lupus Pregnancy Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. It does this by producing more antibodies than normal and by producing antibodies that are excessively destructive. The skin, joints, kidneys, lungs and nervous system can be affected.
Some patients have a limited form of lupus called discoid lupus, which involves only the skin.
A butterfly rash on the face, extending from one cheek over the bridge of the nose to the other cheek, which many consider to be a classic sign of lupus, actually appears in only about 50 percent of patients. Common symptoms include fatigue, arthritis pain, fever, hair loss, muscle weakness and tenderness. Women with lupus are also prone to Raynaud's disease, a circulatory ailment that affects the hands and feet, and are often sensitive to light. Some can develop life-threatening complications such as kidney disease and problems with their lungs and heart. Diagnosis is based on having 4 of 11 symptoms established by the American College of Rheumatology.