World Lupus Day: Is it born with the disease or is it hereditary?

He lupus It is one disease that occurs when the Immune system The body attacks the tissues and organs themselves. It is a disease Difficult to diagnose, and according to the Mayo Clinic of the United States, it is likely that this condition derives from a combination genetics and of the environment.

Each May 10 He commemorated World Lupus Daywith the intention of raising awareness of the population about this disease give education and improve Medical Care Services to people who live with the disease, as well as increasing research on Causes and cure of lupus.

So is it born with the disease or is it hereditary?

It is not known exactly if a person is born with lupus or is inherited. However, the health company Sanitas points out that it is believed that it can be born with a predisposition to having the disease.

In fact, there is suspicion that there are some kind of Genetic alteration that is transmitted to the child and that generates that susceptibility to suffering the lupusbut at the moment these genes have not been identified and there are no available genetic test that allows to determine if a person will develop this Autoimmune disease or not.

The Mayo Clinic, On the other hand, he confirms that “some people are born with a tendency to suffer lupus“, But clarifies that this“ can be triggered by infections, certain medications or even sunlight.

“Apparently, people who have a hereditary predisposition to get lupus could develop that disease when they come into contact with something in the environment that can trigger lupus.”

May Clinic

However, in most cases, the cause of lupus is unknown, he adds.

And what is lupus?

He lupus It is one disease that occurs when the Immune system of the body attacks your own tissues and organs, that is, it is a Autoimmune disease. Because this condition causes inflammation different systems and organs of the body, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs, can be affected.

Lupus symptoms

He lupus It can be difficult to diagnose because your signs and symptoms They are generally similar to those of others diseases. However, the more distinctive lupus sign It is one Cutaneous eruption on the face that resembles the “open wings of a butterfly” on both cheeks and is presented in many cases of LupuS, but not in all.

In addition, the signs and symptoms They will depend on the body systems that are affected by the disease. Among the most common are included:

• Fatigue Fever
• Joint pain, stiffness and swelling
• Lesions that appear on the skin or that worsen with sun exposure
• Fingers of the feet and hands that become white or blue when they are exposed to the cold or during stress situations
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Dry eyes
• Headache
• Disorientation
• Memory loss

At the moment, There is no cure for lupusbut treatments can help control symptoms.

Risk factors

Los factors that could increase the risk of lupus are the following:

• Sex: he lupus It is more common in women.
• Age: although the lupus It affects people of all ages, more frequently, it is diagnosed in people between 15 and 45 years.
• Raza: he lupus It is more common in African -American, Hispanic and American Americans of Asian origin.

He lupus It is a disease that varies in its expression and severity from one person to another. Although it has no specific treatment, close clinical follow -up allows a good quality of life, even 90% of patients have a life expectancy comparable to that of healthy people.

Hence this disease It cannot be described as mortal, even when any of the complications can generate the death of the patient, he indicates Sanitas