Lupus Disease And Stem Cell Therapy

Stem Cell Therapy

Lupus is an autoimmune disease. This means that the body immune system fails to recognize the body tissues as it, and treats the tissues as foreign materials or invaders.  Subsequently, the immune system attacks the tissues of the body, leading to inflammatory reactions, and causing damage and injury. This reduces the functionality of the affected tissues and organs. Some Lupus patients do present with mild symptoms, while some patients present with severe signs and symptoms that might be lifelong. This disease predominantly affects people from Africa, Asia, and Native America. In most cases, the number of affected people in these places is often two to three times the cases in other parts of the world. This disease mostly affects people between the age bracket of 15 and 45. Lupus disease can be categorized into two kinds;

1. Discoid lupus erythematosus
2. Systemic lupus erythematosus

1. Discoid lupus erythematosus: Discoid lupus erythematosus is a type of lupus disease, that affects the skin that has exposure to sunlight. It, however, doesn’t affect the internal organs. These lesions often present with scars, after the lesion has healed.
2. Systemic lupus erythematosus: This is a more severe disease, and one of the most popular and common autoimmune disease. It’d a notorious disease, considering it does affects many organs of the body, and often presents with symptoms such as malar rash’ a butterfly-shaped rash that occurs on the face, across the nose, and below the eyes. Apart from this, this disease also the skin of other parts of the body. In addition to this, systemic lupus erythematosus disease can also cause damages in other organs such as the hepatic, renal, pulmonary and the cardiovascular system. In some cases, this disease can also cause some psychological and neurological disorders such as depression, seizures, chronic fatigue syndrome, and Also, the vessels of the body are often attacked in systemic lupus erythematosus disease. This leads to the development of lesions, sores on the skin. They do also present with some syndrome, such as Raynaud syndrome.

What Causes Lupus Disease?

Lupus disease is not caused by a single factor. It’s mostly a combination of factors that lead to the development of this disease. It’s believed that Lupus is influenced by some defected genes. In fact, about thirty genes have been connected to the development of this disease. Apart from genetics, hormones, environmental and the immune system have been implicated to be factors that lead to the development of this disease.

1. Infections: Having an infection increases the risk of being affected by Lupus disease. It is also capable of causing relapse in some people. Bacterial and viral infections are examples of infections that can lead to the development of this disease.
2. Sunlight: Exposing the skin to the sun can also trigger the development of lupus lesions on the skin. It can also initiate and induce a response in people who are already vulnerable or have a high risk of being affected by the disease.
3. Drugs: There are some drugs that can induce the development of this disease. Examples of this medications include anti-hypertensive drugs such as hydralazine, procainamide. In addition to this, drugs used for the treatment of seizures have been noted to be capable of triggering this disease. Lastly, some antibiotics are also capable of causing drug-induced lupus disease. In most cases, the symptoms caused by drug-induced lupus disease often stops, when the use of the drugs is discontinued. It’s uncommon for the symptoms to persist after this.

What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Lupus Disease?

The signs and symptoms of this disease vary in people. People usually don’t present with the same symptoms. Signs and symptoms might develop suddenly in some patients, and might be gradual in some other patients. Also, symptoms presented in some people affected by the disease might be mild, while it’d be severe in some other people. Most people suffering from this disease often have episodes. These episodes are the periods when the disease worsens for a while, to improve after a short time, or even be eliminated completely. The signs and symptoms that a patient will present with largely depends on the affected system or organ. Below are some of the common signs and symptoms of Lupus disease;

1. Tiredness
2. Fever
3. Pain in the joints, associated with swelling and rigidity.
4. Malar rash on the face: This is a rash that goes across the bridge of the nose, and extends to the chin, usually in the shape of a butterfly.
5. Lesions on the skin, that worsens when the skin is exposed to sunlight.
6. Raynaud’s phenomenon: This is a condition in which the fingers or toes turn to white, then to blue and finally to red when exposed to cold, or extreme changes in temperature.
7. Shortness of breath.
8. Pain in the chest.
9. Dry eyes
10. Confusion and nausea
11. Oversensitivity to light
12. Swollen lymph nodes
13. Swollen joints

What Are The Risk Factors For Lupus Disease?

Risk factors are conditions that can increase the chances of having Lupus disease. These factors include:

45. Age: Lupus disease affects people of all age brackets, however, it’s more predominant in people aged between 15 and 45.
46. Gender: According to statistics, it has been recorded that Lupus disease affects women, more than men.
47. Race: It has been observed that Lupus disease is more common in African-Americans, Native Americans, and

How Is Lupus Disease Currently Treated?

Since Lupus disease is an autoimmune disease, it’s mostly treated with medications that would suppress the immune system. Drugs such as corticosteroids and hydroxychloroquine are prescribed.

Stem Cell Therapy And Lupus Disease

Mesenchymal stem cells have proved useful in the treatment of this disease. They are unique cells that are capable of differentiating into other cells of the body. They can regenerate, regulate the immune system, and also repair and replace injured or damaged tissues. Mesenchymal stem cells cannot be detected by the body immune system. This makes them important in the treatment of this disease. Some studies were carried out in China; mesenchymal stem cells were introduced to parts of the body affected by this disease. The stem cells successfully regenerated the damaged tissue. More research and studies are still being done. In a few years, significant successes would have been recorded in this field.

References

262 Longitudinal Assessment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity: British Isles Lupus Assessment Group 2004, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 or Both?. (2016). Rheumatology.

Barfield, C. (1980). Discoid Lupus Erythematosus and Tuberculosis Simulating Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Archives of Internal Medicine, 140(5), p.715.

Fox, R. (1979). Systemic lupus erythematosus. Association with previous neonatal lupus erythematosus. Archives of Dermatology, 115(3), pp.340-340.

Systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid syndrome. (2016). Rheumatology.