Health Tip: The Mystery of Lupus

(HealthDay News) -- Lupus is a chronic disorder that for unknown reasons causes the body''s immune system to attack its own tissues, according to the Lupus Foundation of America.

While it can affect women and men of any age, it''s two-to-three times more likely to affect blacks, Hispanics, Asians or Native Americans, the foundation says. It occurs 10 to 15 times more frequently among adult females than adult males, and most often affects people aged 15 to 44.

The most common symptoms of the disease include achy joints, fever, arthritis, extreme fatigue, skin rashes, and anemia. Sometimes symptoms disappear for a prolonged period, a term doctors call "remission."

There is no cure for lupus. Therapies may include painkilling and anti-inflammatory medications, and drugs that suppress the overactive immune system.

-- Deborah DiSesa Hirsch

Last Updated: March 9, 2006