A question about the disease Lupus?

I got a packet in the mail from a foundation that is trying to find a cure for Lupus. From the vague information on the information card that I got, it sounds like its a life-threatening disease. Do people with Lupus have a shorter lifespan? Or with proper treatment can you actually live long just like a person without lupus? Is this a common disease? If you've been tested positive for auto-immune antibodies and ANA does that mean you have Lupus?

Sorry for all the questions...it just sounds serious and I would like to donate money to help find a cure for this...thanks!

Dear Knowing,
I have lupus with organ involvement and it did nearly kill me.
Lupus can range from mild to life threatening to fatal.
With regular medical monitoring most lupus patients can expect to live a relatively normal life span.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease. The exact cause is not known. Researchers believe that a genetic predisposition coupled with a trigger or triggers causes lupus to develop.

For me, it affected heart, lungs, bone marrow, and kidneys. It was pretty nasty. I will be on toxic medications for life just to try and control it.

A positive ANA does not mean you have lupus but most lupus patients have a positive ANA. Many other conditions can cause a positive ANA.

Lupus is more common than you might think. There are a reported 400,000 people with multiple sclerosis, 70,000 people with sickle cell and 30,000 with cystic fibrosis. If you add ALL three together and multiply that number by 3 or 4 you get the number of people with lupus. 1.5 to 2 million. That is 1 in every 170 Americans

Lupus most often develops in women between the ages of 14 and 45. A mild to moderate case of lupus costs 3,000 to 6,000 a year to control. Most of us cannot hold a full time job and some cannot work at all. Lupus strikes women 9 times more often than men. It strikes women of color 3-4 times more often than Caucasians.

Half of us have lupus kidney disease. Some of us have types that are untreatable. Some have clotting disorders, called antiphospholipid antibody syndrome that causes heart attacks, strokes and miscarriages. Most of us have premature hardening of the arteries.

Yes it is a very serious disease. There have been no new medications for lupus since Eisenhower was president. Please do help us. AND click on the take action link at the site provided to encourage your federal legislators to co-sponsor the Lupus REACH amendment.

Thank you for your help!

Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which means that the body's natural defense system (immune system) attacks its own tissues instead of attacking foreign substances like bacteria and viruses. This causes inflammation. Inflammation causes swelling, pain, and tissue damage throughout the body. If you develop severe lupus, you may have problems with your kidneys, heart, lungs, nervous system, or blood cells. Lupus is the common name for systemic lupus erythematosus, also called SLE.