Hope for Lupus Sufferers

Aug. 31, 2006 — -- Most health-conscious women know about the risks of heart disease and breast cancer, but they may be overlooking a debilitating disease that primarily affects them: lupus.

About 90 percent of lupus patients are women.

A chronic autoimmune disease, lupus can cause inflammation and tissue damage in skin, joints, blood vessels, the heart, lungs, kidney and brain.

The disease causes the immune system to attack the body's tissue and organs.

For most people, lupus is a mild disease affecting only a few organs. For others, it may cause life-threatening problems.

Kelly Jean Drury, a former model and actress, was diagnosed with lupus in 1998.

She was forced to give up her career and move from Los Angeles back to her hometown of Chicago.

After years of intense joint pain, Drury finally found a treatment that worked for her -- chemotherapy.

She called it her "saving grace."

"Every day is one day at a time. Some days are better than others," Drury said. "I just don't know what my future holds."

Who can get lupus, and how do you detect it?

While it mainly affects women, lupus can also appear in men, children and the elderly, said Dr. Susan Manzi.

More than 1.5 million people nationwide have lupus, and more than 16,000 people will develop it this year.

Detecting the disease can be very difficult, however.

"We say lupus patients are like snowflakes," Manzi said.

Patients may exhibit widely varying symptoms, but there are some things you can look out for:

Because many of these symptoms mimic other illnesses -- and because they are sometimes vague and may arise periodically -- lupus can be difficult to diagnose.

The disease is more likely to appear in women who are Asian, African-American and Hispanic.

While there is no cure for lupus, it can be treated with medication that controls the symptoms.