Lupus (Butterfly) Disease

Lupus, a disease that can be seen in people all over the world, is statistically more common in Asians, African-Americans and Hispanics. The best statistical studies on lupus have been conducted on the European continent. The first conclusion from these studies is that lupus occurs in one in every 2500 people. Of those diagnosed with lupus, 15% were diagnosed under the age of 18. On the other hand, lupus is more common in post-adolescents and women in their childbearing years.

What is Lupus Disease?

Lupus disease, which is among autoimmune diseases, is also known as butterfly disease among the people. As with autoimmune diseases, lupus is caused by the immune system of the patients fighting with healthy tissues. Lupus usually affects the kidneys, blood, skin, central nervous system and joints.

Butterfly disease, referred to as systemic lupus erythematosus in medical language, is a combination of Greek and Latin words. Lupus is the Latin word for wolf and refers to the butterfly-shaped spots on the skin that resemble the butterfly shapes on the face of wolves. Erythematosus is Greek for red and refers to the color of the spots. The term systemic in the name of the disease means that the disease affects many organs.

The main reason why lupus is difficult to diagnose is that it affects multiple organs. However, the most characteristic symptom of the disease is a butterfly-shaped red rash on the face. In addition to all this, lupus has been called the great mimic. This is because the symptoms of lupus are similar to those of many other diseases.

What Causes Lupus (Butterfly) Disease?

There are many factors that can cause lupus. Among these, genetic predisposition is one of the most important factors. In addition, hormonal changes, especially with adolescence, heavy mental stress and sun rays are the causes of the emergence of the disease. In addition, some medications and viral infections are also known to trigger lupus. In lupus, environmental factors are extremely important as patients' immune systems attack healthy tissues.

How is Lupus Disease Diagnosed?

Lupus is an extremely difficult disease to diagnose and can only be diagnosed by ruling out other possible diseases. This is because lupus does not have characterized eczema or characteristic symptoms of the disease. Instead, it is confused with many other diseases, especially other autoimmune diseases. This requires patients to undergo a number of tests and meet at least four of the 11 diagnostic criteria.

Blood Tests

Blood tests are of great importance in the diagnosis of lupus. This is because blood tests can be used to determine whether the disease involves organs or which organs are involved. For this, the following tests are particularly important among the tests that should be applied to patients.

• The majority of lupus patients test positive for Anti-nuclear Antibody, known as ANA. However, this test alone is not sufficient to make a diagnosis, as it can also give positive results in other diseases.
• The anti-double chain DNA test is another test that is performed on patients with suspected lupus and, if positive, patients are most likely to be diagnosed with lupus. If the test is repeated and the result shows an increase, then this is interpreted as evidence that the disease is progressing. For this reason, anti-dsDNA tests should be repeated at regular intervals and the course of the disease should be monitored even after the diagnosis.
• If the anti-Ro antibody test is positive, patients are also expected to experience dizziness and Sjögren's syndrome. In addition, it is expected to observe findings called Rash, which cause dryness of the skin. If it is detected in a patient during pregnancy, it should be closely monitored. This is because these antibodies are transmitted from mother to baby.
• The last blood test used in the diagnosis of lupus is the antiphospholipid antibody test. In case of a positive test result, patients should be closely monitored because they may experience clotting in their veins or miscarriage if they are pregnant.

Urine Tests

A urine test is used to determine whether the kidneys are involved in lupus. This test involves measuring the levels of protein and red blood cells in the urine. A high level of these values is seen as evidence of kidney involvement.

Lupus Disease Treatment Methods

There are different treatment methods available for the treatment of lupus. The most influential factor in determining the treatment method is whether the disease is classified as mild or severe. According to this classification, which is based on the symptoms seen in patients, a treatment plan is created by using several methods together.

Mild Lupus

Mild lupus involves the skin rather than the organs. The most characteristic symptom is the butterfly-shaped rash that appears especially on the nasal areas of the patients. In addition, patients may also have involvement of skin tissues in different parts of the body.

In mild lupus, the disease also involves the joints. In this case, patients have inflammation and pain in their joints. The fact that this subtype of lupus is called mild lupus is not an indication that patients have mild symptoms. On the contrary, it has a significant impact on patients' quality of life. For this reason, diagnosing the disease at an early stage and initiating treatment makes exacerbations milder.

Exercise

The most important stage of lupus treatment is exercise. Regular exercise has an important role in the fight against the disease as it keeps the muscle tissues alive. In addition, regular exercise increases body resistance and suppresses lupus.

In addition, if the joints are involved, it is possible to stop it with exercises. For this, an exercise program prepared by experts should be applied. These movements generally include opening, stretching, pulling and releasing. It also helps lupus patients to increase their motivation and fight chronic fatigue.

Reducing Stress

In people who are stressed, organs or tissues in the body cannot fulfill their duties fully or on time. The confused immune system then starts to attack these non-threatening tissues even more. For this reason, people with lupus experience more flare-ups, especially during periods of stress. For this reason, it is extremely important for patients to keep their stress levels at an optimal level after receiving a diagnosis in terms of the progression of the disease.

Sun Protection

Exposure to the harmful rays of the sun can be a triggering factor in lupus. For this reason, it is important for patients to protect their skin from sunlight in summer and winter. This requires wearing sun-protective clothing and using high-factor sunscreen.

Heavy Lupus

In patients with severe lupus, skin deformations and joint involvement are much more severe, while organ and system involvement is also possible. Severe lupus can cause inflammation and serious damage to the organs involved. This can lead to impaired organ function and even death. Especially during periods of exacerbation of lupus disease, which involves the brain and kidneys, it causes seizures, malar rash, paralysis, stroke, inflammation of the heart membranes and arthritis in patients.

Cortisone Therapy

Cortisone treatment has two purposes. The first is to relieve the inflammation in the joints and other organs caused by lupus. The other aim of cortisone treatment is to control lupus by suppressing the immune system. Physicians use the tests to determine the dose of cortisone treatment and the medication to be used. In addition, this treatment is usually applied to patients in whom the central nervous system and kidneys are affected. These patients must also have hemolytic anemia.

Immunosuppressive Drugs

It is a method used especially in periods of severe exacerbation of severe lupus. With these drugs, patients' immune systems are suppressed. The immune system must attack healthy tissues severely during periods of exacerbation for these drugs to be preferred. In addition, since immunosuppressive drugs also suppress the normal functions of the immune system, methods to increase the body's overall resistance should be applied together with the treatment.

Side Effects of Severe Lupus Treatment

The medicines used to treat severe lupus have some side effects. Some of these side effects are very common, while others are rare. For this reason, according to the values of the patients, doctors inform their patients comprehensively about the side effects. Side effects that can be seen in patients within the framework of treatment are as follows:

• Sudden weight gain,
• Body hair growth,
• Skin sensitivity,
• Increased blood pressure,
• Indigestion
• Heartburn
• Depressed mood,
• Tuberculosis

Nutrition of Lupus Patients

Lupus patients need to follow the prescribed treatment meticulously. In addition, in order to get more positive results from the treatment, it is extremely important for patients to pay attention to their nutrition and support the treatment by eating right. What lupus patients should add to their diet are the following:

• When consuming foods in the cereal group, they should take care that they are from the whole grain group.
• Patients should make sure that the food they consume is inorganic and unprocessed.
• In order to meet their vitamin and mineral needs, they should consume plenty of vegetables and fruits.
• They should include plenty of foods rich in antioxidants in their diet.
• They should include foods with high nutritional value such as almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts.
• They should also include bone broth in their diet, as its benefits to the immune system are enormous.
• Fish, which is rich in omega fats, also plays an important role in the diet of lupus patients.
• Lupus patients should include yogurt, kefir, olive oil, turmeric, ginger, epsom salt, basil, green tea, milk, cucumber and melon in their diet to increase their body resistance.
• Finally, it is recommended that lupus patients consume plenty of water during the day.

There are two important points to be emphasized in the nutrition of lupus patients. The first of these points is to ensure that cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood remain at normal levels, while the second is to determine a diet list that prevents kidney problems.

In addition, since the drugs used in the treatment of lupus, especially in children and adolescents, affect blood sugar in the long term and cause weight gain, it is important to regulate their nutrition in a way that eliminates these possibilities. For this, it is important for patients to be under constant observation and to continue their lives with nutrition programs determined in accordance with changing values.

Eating Low-Calorie Foods

In studies conducted not only on lupus but also on all autoimmune diseases, it has been observed that the implementation of low-calorie nutrition programs stops the progression of diseases. For this reason, it is recommended that people with lupus reduce their daily calories by 30% to 40%. A low-calorie diet not only reduces the level of infection in the blood but also protects the kidneys by reducing the release of the main antibody of nephritis. In addition to all these, the drugs used in treatment reduce the risk of obesity as they can cause weight gain.

Eating a Taurine-Rich Diet

Taurine, a type of amino acid, is found in high amounts in red meat, eggs and white meat. The importance of taurine in lupus is that it helps regulate the immune system's responses. In addition, it reduces excessive secretion of inflammatory cytokines and suppresses oxidative stress. In these benefits, it prevents the death of healthy cells due to lupus disease. It also prevents the increase of cholesterol in the blood. However, it should be noted that taurine should be taken from food rather than as a food supplement. Because in some patients, taking taurine as a food supplement causes the disease to worsen.

Healthy Fats Should Be Consumed

Controlling cholesterol in the blood is important for the nutrition of lupus patients. For this reason, patients should completely avoid foods containing born fat. Patients should avoid vegetable saturated fats such as cocoa butter and coconut oil and animal saturated fats such as margarine, cream, cream and tail fat. Instead, healthy fats such as omega fats, walnut oil and flaxseed oil should be present in their daily diet in a balanced way. In addition, omega 3 fats are effective in lowering cholesterol and increasing good cholesterol, while omega 6 fats increase creatine levels and inflammatory markers.

Calcium Rich Diet

In order for the immune system to maintain its normal functions, it needs to support minerals such as zinc, selenium, copper and iron as well as vitamin D. In addition, it is important to provide calcium support in lupus patients. Because the risk of bone resorption is higher in lupus patients. To prevent this, patients should take 1500 mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D daily.

Excessive Protein Consumption Should Be Avoided

It is dangerous for people with lupus to eat a diet rich in protein. Instead, patients should opt for a moderate protein diet. Because excessive protein consumption by lupus patients accelerates the mineral loss in the bones. It is important to limit the amount of protein that lupus patients should consume daily to 0.6 grams per kilogram of weight. It is important that this restriction is done under the control of a dietitian. Otherwise, low protein intake can lead to chronic kidney failure.