Lupus is an autoimmune disease. It is a condition that the medical profession finds very difficult to diagnose. There is no single test that will diagnose lupus.

Signs and symptoms that closely mimic other medical conditions complicate the issue. Many tests are conducted to help rule out other conditions that have similar symptoms.

What is the Cause of Lupus?

Our immune system is designed to identify and attack foreign bodies, such as bacteria and viruses, to keep us healthy. For reasons not fully understood, our immune cells can reprogram and attack our own cells and tissues, causing autoimmune disease.

What triggers the autoimmune system to cause lupus is not known. Scientists believe that either environmental factors or genetics, or more likely a combination of both, are generally responsible.

This combination of genetic predisposition and an external triggering event seem common to all expressions of autoimmune disease. Continue reading →

MS occurs when the immune system attacks the central nervous system, affecting the brain and spinal cord. The medical profession find MS an astounding disease because of the severity, and variety of ways that it affects people.

People with MS commonly experience an unpredictable fluctuation of relapses and remissions. Attacks can last a few weeks and then disappear. However relapses can get progressively worse, more unpredictable and come with different symptoms.

MS is in itself not fatal, but some people with the disease are more susceptible to contracting other illnesses. Severe cases may involve paralysis or vision loss.

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects more than 2 million worldwide. Three times as many women as men suffer from the disease. The onset of the disease usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 40. Continue reading →