What are the causes of lupus nephritis?
Lupus nephritis is a type of nephritis caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (hereinafter referred to as lupus). Lupus erythematosus is a very common autoimmune disease that occurs in women during their reproductive years, has a certain genetic background, and is prone to develop under triggers such as elevated female hormones (e.g. pregnancy), ultraviolet radiation, chemical pollution, and infection. Patients with lupus erythematosus may present with various symptoms such as fever, facial erythema, arthralgia, anemia, pleurisy, myocarditis, etc. When lupus erythematosus invades the kidneys and patients develop symptoms of nephritis such as swelling, proteinuria, hematuria or renal insufficiency, it is called lupus nephritis. The manifestations of lupus nephritis do not differ from those of general nephritis and vary in severity. In mild cases, there may be no symptoms but only urine protein or hematuria during urine examination, while in severe cases, the above symptoms may appear.
The chance of lupus erythematosus complicating nephritis is very high, and up to 50-70% of patients have clinical symptoms, and if kidney biopsy is performed, kidney damage can be found in more than 90% of patients. Therefore, patients with lupus erythematosus should pay special attention to the presence of kidney damage, and regular urine examination is needed for early detection of kidney damage and timely treatment. Even if the urine examination is normal at the beginning of the disease, it should be reviewed regularly.
What are the common symptoms of lupus erythematosus? When the following symptoms are found, lupus erythematosus should be considered and a comprehensive examination should be conducted to make a clear diagnosis at an early stage.
Unexplained fever of long duration; rash, especially facial butterfly erythema; photosensitivity, which means facial redness or allergic rash when encountering sunlight; recurrent painless ulcers in the mouth, tongue and cheeks; significant hair loss; white or purple fingers, pain and numbness after exposure to cold (especially cold water in winter), commonly known as Raynaud’s phenomenon; petechiae on hands and feet, indentation, ulceration and necrosis on finger ends and toe tips Recurrent or persistent joint pain, swelling, fever, morning activity stiffness; unexplained anemia, leukopenia or thrombocytopenia; unexplained pericardial effusion, pleural effusion (except inflammation), etc.
In young female nephritis patients, lupus nephritis should be ruled out even more when the above symptoms appear.
Why must kidney biopsy be performed in patients with lupus nephritis?
The clinical symptoms of lupus nephritis vary in severity, and more importantly, the kidney lesions also vary, so kidney biopsy can determine different pathological types. If the treatment is done according to the past experience, not only the treatment effect is not good, the disease activity is not controlled, the best time for treatment is missed, but also unnecessary drug side effects are brought about by the inappropriate use of drugs. Therefore, the treatment of lupus nephritis must be treated according to “type” and the best treatment plan must be chosen according to the characteristics of kidney damage in order to obtain the best results. The kidney puncture biopsy technology of the PLA Nephrology Institute is excellent and safe, and there is no accident in any of the tens of thousands of kidney biopsies, so you can rest assured that you are getting a kidney biopsy.
What laboratory tests do patients with lupus nephritis need to do?
Patients with lupus nephritis should undergo the following laboratory tests before treatment and during follow-up.
① Blood count for anemia, leukopenia or thrombocytopenia;
② Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (hematocrit), C-reactive protein (CRP);
③ Liver and kidney function;
④ auto-antibodies;
⑤ Complement;
⑥Cool globulin;
⑦ CD4, CD8, CD 20 and regulatory T lymphocytes;
⑧ Urine test. The doctor will select the tests according to your condition with the purpose of understanding the changes in lupus activity and kidney damage so that the medication can be adjusted.
What autoantibodies are found in the blood of lupus patients?
Patients with lupus erythematosus have antibodies against their own tissues for various reasons, which are called autoantibodies in medical science. There are many kinds of autoantibodies in lupus patients, including anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies (A-dsDNA), anti-Sm antibodies, anti-nuclear ribonucleoprotein antibodies (A-nRNP), anti-SSA antibodies, anti-SSB antibodies, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), and anti-cardiolipin antibodies (ACL). Testing for these antibodies can help with diagnosis on the one hand, and can determine disease activity on the other, and should be reviewed regularly.
What hematological tests reflect the activity of lupus erythematosus?
It is usually considered that a significant decrease in white blood cells or platelets or anemia; positive anti-dsDNA in the blood; elevated ANA levels; decreased complement; increased sedimentation (>50 mm/hour or more); and increased C-reactive protein and cryoglobulin reflect lupus activity. Lupus activity usually starts with abnormal hematological indicators before symptoms appear. Therefore, it is usually necessary to test various hematological indicators regularly during the treatment process, with the aim of early detection of disease activity and early adjustment of treatment. It is important not to wait until the symptoms are obvious before reviewing them, because the organ damage is already very serious at that time.
What urine tests should be done for patients with lupus nephritis?
Patients with definite lupus nephritis should usually have 24-hour urine protein quantification, urine sediment microscopy, urine leukocyte count and classification, urine N-acetic acid-β-D-amino glucosidase (NAGase), urine retinol binding protein (RBP), urine osmolality, urine C3/α2-M and urine protein profile analysis, and urine acidification test. The purpose is to understand the degree and activity of glomerular and tubular damage, which is an important indicator to judge the condition, select treatment plan and determine the prognosis. Of course, the focus of the examination items varies for different patients, and doctors will make appropriate judgments.
Can urine test reflect the activity of lupus nephritis?
When there is a large amount of red blood cell urine, tubular urine or white blood cell urine in urine examination, it all indicates active or recurrent lupus nephritis. The presence of proteinuria alone is not an indicator of lupus nephritis activity, but nephritis activity should be considered if there is an increase in urine protein or significant hematuria or leukocyturia when monitored dynamically.
How to treat lupus nephritis reasonably?
The treatment of lupus nephritis is a relatively complex clinical problem. If you are a patient with lupus nephritis, please make sure you pay attention to the following points in the treatment process.
(1) It should be treated for a long time, even for life. The disease has a strong genetic background, and drug treatment so far can provide good relief but cannot cure it completely, so long-term medication is needed. Some patients stop taking medication because they are worried about the side effects of the medication or listen to the wandering doctors, and the disease often recurs.
(2) Staged treatment according to the degree of disease activity. When lupus erythematosus is in the active stage and the inflammatory response of kidney is very serious, it usually requires high-dose and several drugs combination therapy (such as hormone combined with primaquine or FK506, etc.) (called induction phase therapy), which aims to rapidly control inflammation and stop kidney damage from continuing to aggravate. And when the activity is controlled then it is switched to maintenance therapy with small doses of drugs to prevent recurrence and protect kidney function (maintenance therapy). Long-term treatment with high-dose drugs is bound to bring some complications, but if maintenance treatment is not carried out, it can cause recurrent activity of lupus erythematosus and increasing renal damage, which may eventually develop into renal failure. Therefore, during the treatment process, treatment should be adjusted in a timely manner according to the lupus erythematosus activity. There should be a long-term plan for the treatment of lupus erythematosus, and it is important not to stop the medication at will after the condition improves or to take the medication blindly for a long time.
(3) Treatment plan varies from person to person. Lupus nephritis varies in severity and has many types, and different treatment plans should be adopted for different pathological types. The treatment method of high-dose hormone combined with cyclophosphamide intravenous injection, which is commonly used in clinical practice, is not suitable for all patients with lupus nephritis. Drug therapy should be selectively administered under the guidance of physicians according to the specific condition and pathological type of renal biopsy. In long-term maintenance treatment, the combination of Chinese and Western therapies is not only effective, but also has few side effects, and patients can live and work normally.
(4) Pay attention to the prevention and control of complications. This point is often easy to be neglected. Patients with lupus nephritis are prone to various complications in the treatment process, such as infection, cardiovascular complications, femoral necrosis, etc., which can be life-threatening in severe cases. The key to reducing complications lies in the rational use of anti-lupus drugs, regular follow-up and early detection and treatment. When using high-dose drugs for treatment, relative isolation, not going to public places, paying attention to climate change, and promptly seeking medical attention when symptoms of infection such as fever appear.
(5) Prevent recurrence of lupus erythematosus. Any infection, sun exposure, exposure to chemicals or pregnancy can trigger lupus erythematosus activity. Female patients should avoid pregnancy until their disease is fully controlled. If pregnancy is necessary, it must also be done under the guidance of a doctor.
(6) Emphasize the concept of holistic treatment. Since lupus erythematosus is a systemic disease, while controlling lupus nephritis activity and protecting kidney function, attention should be paid to the treatment and function protection of other important organs such as heart, lung or brain.
To sum up, patients with lupus nephritis should not listen to the wandering doctors and accept unscientific treatment methods. They should choose a regular hospital and let the doctor make a long-term treatment plan according to the characteristics of their condition and review it regularly. This is the only way to effectively control the disease, minimize drug complications and maintain a better quality of life and work ability.
How to better protect your kidneys?
In the treatment of lupus nephritis, the use of immunosuppressants to control the activity of lupus is certainly important, but it is not enough to focus on the treatment of lupus and neglect the protection of the kidneys, which may eventually lead to treatment failure and renal insufficiency. In fact, if the kidney damage caused by lupus activity is more serious, even if lupus is not active, the kidney lesions can continue to aggravate and develop renal sclerosis, leading to chronic renal insufficiency. Therefore, during the treatment of lupus nephritis, attention must be paid to the protection of renal function to avoid renal insufficiency. Some patients may already have different degrees of renal insufficiency at the time of consultation due to recurrent activity of lupus erythematosus or delayed treatment, which should also be protected as much as possible to avoid further deterioration of renal function. So what factors can aggravate kidney damage?
The first is hypertension. Patients with lupus nephritis are often complicated by hypertension, which is the biggest risk factor for the deterioration of kidney function. Therefore, patients with lupus nephritis must pay attention to monitoring blood pressure, and if there is an increase in blood pressure, it must be strictly controlled.
Next is proteinuria. Proteinuria not only reflects that there is damage to the glomerulus, but also can cause damage to the tubular interstitium, which is one of the risk factors leading to the progression of kidney disease. Reducing urine protein can reduce the damage to the kidney and play a role in protecting the kidney.
Third: nephrotoxic drugs. Some drugs are often damaging to the kidneys, such as sulfonamides, kanamycin, gentamicin, polymyxin B and other antibiotics; traditional Chinese medicine (especially Guanmu Tong, Fang Xie, etc.) and analgesics. Such drugs should be avoided and unnecessary drugs should be minimized to avoid aggravating kidney damage.
Fourth: Infection. During the treatment of lupus nephritis (especially during the first few months of treatment), infection is prone to occur. Infection often leads to recurrence or aggravation of the disease, so attention should be paid to the prevention of infection in daily life: avoid going to crowded public places and keep the living environment clean and ventilated to reduce the occurrence of infection. Once the infection occurs, you should seek medical consultation and take medication in time.
Fifth: obesity. Obesity is currently a major problem that endangers public health worldwide. Obesity is not only a risk factor for hyperlipidemia, hypertension and coronary heart disease, but also can increase proteinuria and aggravate the damage of kidney. If lupus patients are combined with obesity they should pay attention to weight loss and maintain their ideal weight.
Of course, there are other factors such as cardiac insufficiency, acidosis, electrolyte disorders, hyperlipidemia, etc., which should be corrected during the treatment.
What should be noted in the treatment of lupus nephritis?
(1) Use medication strictly according to medical prescriptions, because the treatment plan formulated by the doctor for you is based on the patient’s specific condition, clinical experience and the progress of domestic and foreign medicine, and should never be changed at will.
(2) Even if you have a minor illness such as a cold or flu, you should pay attention to it, seek medical attention early and treat it promptly so that it does not turn into a major illness.
(3) Regularly check the relevant laboratory indicators, especially blood and urine routine, kidney function and immunological indicators. This is one of the important bases for doctors to judge disease activity.
(4) Appropriate participation in physical exercise to improve physical fitness, such as taijiquan, qigong, slow walking and other light fitness exercises.
(5) Do not believe in advertisements and legends, not to mention that you should not seek medical help when you are sick, but to be diagnosed and treated in a regular hospital with certain medical conditions.
(6) Maintain an optimistic and stable emotion, do not be overjoyed and sad.
Which patients are suitable for multi-target therapy treatment?
The National Institute of Kidney Diseases has pioneered multi-target therapy for the treatment of severe lupus nephritis since 2005, conceptually re-enhancing the understanding and means of treatment for immune nephropathy, and its research results were officially announced to the world in 2008, causing a shock in the international medical community and providing a boon to patients with lupus nephritis. Of course not all patients need to adopt this treatment option, and the need for this therapy should be determined by the nature of the renal biopsy lesion.
How to use glucocorticoids correctly?
Glucocorticoids (commonly known as hormones) are the basic drugs used in the treatment of lupus nephritis. The use of hormones has a profound science. According to the therapeutic dose, there are small, medium and large doses and shock doses. The starting dose and the process of reducing the dose must be used according to the condition, varying from person to person and under the guidance of doctors. It should also be understood that hormones may bring some side effects: such as infection, hypertension, elevated blood sugar, osteoporosis, femoral head necrosis, glaucoma, etc. Therefore, the application of hormones should be under the guidance of physicians, master the principles of medication, follow up regularly, adjust the dose in time and minimize the side effects, and avoid stopping the use of hormones at will by over-considering the side effects.
Why should lupus patients take medication for a long time?
Lupus nephritis is a chronic disease, and patients must establish the idea of long-term treatment, which often takes years, decades or even longer. A practical long-term treatment plan should be developed by an experienced doctor according to the patient’s condition, and the patient should follow the doctor’s prescription for regular medication. During the long treatment process, you should never reduce or stop the medication at your own discretion.
Why must patients be followed up for a long time?
The treatment of lupus nephritis is a long-term process, and follow-up visits must be paid attention to during the treatment process. Through regular follow-up visits, we can have.
(1) timely understanding of the degree of disease control, timely adjustment of treatment plan, and gradual reduction of medication when the disease is in remission.
(2) timely detection of drug side effects.
(3) Early detection of recurrence, and early detection of recurrence can be achieved through laboratory tests before the appearance of clinical symptoms, so that timely treatment can be obtained. (b) Many patients’ condition worsens and even enters renal insufficiency, mostly related to untimely follow-up or long-term failure to come for follow-up.
(4) To understand the presence of other factors that aggravate kidney damage. Therefore, we require outpatient follow-up once every 1 month at the beginning of treatment (induction treatment period) and can follow up once every 2-3 months after the condition is stabilized. Only those in long-term remission can be followed up once every six months.
What are the risks of lupus relapse?
Patients who reduce or stop medication on their own are prone to relapse. Some patients with well-controlled and stable disease stop their own medication for fear of side effects of hormones, resulting in relapse of lupus, which makes the treatment undone. It should be pointed out and cautioned that every relapse of lupus nephritis aggravates kidney damage, and the repeated recurrence of the disease not only brings serious economic burden to the patient’s family, but also leads to kidney failure and even endangers life in serious cases.
What conditions should be considered as lupus recurrence?
When the following symptoms and abnormal laboratory tests appear after the original condition is stable, lupus recurrence should be considered and timely consultation should be made.
① Fever of unknown origin;
② Fresh rash recurrence or vasculitis-like rash at the ends of fingers, toes and other areas;
③ Recurrence of joint swelling and pain;
④ Significant hair loss;
⑤ Fresh ulcers in the mouth and nose;
(6) Pleural fluid or pericardial effusion;
(7) Increased urine protein, increased urine RBC or increased blood creatinine;
(8) Significant leukocytopenia or thrombocytopenia or anemia;
⑨ The appearance of neurological symptoms, such as headache, vomiting, convulsions, etc.
What are the common causes of lupus flare-ups?
There are usually the following reasons for inducing lupus flare-ups.
(1) Premature discontinuation or dose reduction: Not receiving or following the correct and reasonable treatment guidance from the treating doctor, not knowing enough about the complexity of SLE and the long-term nature of treatment, mistakenly thinking that the disease is cured when it improves or just stabilizes, and terminating the treatment prematurely; or being overly worried about the toxic side effects of drugs and having blind resistance to them, not using drugs according to medical advice, withdrawing and reducing them on their own or stopping them suddenly;
(2) Inadequate dose of maintenance drugs, such as too small dose of prednisone, or no combination of drugs;
(3) Lupus is triggered by the use of drugs and poisons that induce lupus activity, drug allergy, etc;
(4) Inadequate attention to life recuperation: sun exposure, cosmetics, hair dyes, fatigue, high mood swings, repeated infections, etc.;
(5) Pregnancy. Therefore, the above factors should be avoided as much as possible in the course of lupus treatment.
How to prevent the recurrence of lupus?
First of all, drugs for lupus treatment should be used correctly under the guidance of doctors, and regular review should be conducted to detect the precursors of lupus recurrence early. Regular immunological examination is crucial, and patients who are in remission should be tested for ANA and anti-DNA antibodies and complement every 3 months. If the original symptoms such as arthralgia, fever and malaise reappear, early consultation should be made for necessary examination, and timely measures should be taken if there is activity; secondly, avoid exposure to factors that induce lupus activity: 1) such as sun exposure and ultraviolet radiation, and when it is really difficult to avoid them, use a sunshade, wear a wide-brimmed hat or long-sleeved clothes and pants, and apply sunscreen to the skin when moving in the sun; 2) avoid cold stimulation. Lupus patients are most susceptible to cold and cold stimulation can lead to recurrence of the disease, so they should add or reduce clothes at any time when the climate changes or the seasons change, and wear hats and gloves when they go out in winter to prevent getting cold; 3) avoid using drugs that induce lupus activities, such as hydrazidiazide, procainamide, α-methyldopa, isoniazid, and memantine; 4) contraception, it is better to use instrumental contraception, not drug contraception; third, build up confidence in overcoming the disease. Establish a good doctor-patient relationship and exclude all kinds of negative factors.
Why do some patients need another kidney biopsy during the treatment process?
Some patients may need to repeat kidney biopsy during the treatment process, especially in patients with unsatisfactory treatment effect, sudden deterioration of kidney function, or lupus recurrence. The main purpose is to understand the degree of disease control after treatment and timely find out whether there is transformation of pathological types through repeat kidney biopsy so as to adjust the treatment plan and effectively control the disease.
What should patients with lupus erythematosus pay attention to in their life and living?
The anti-disease ability of lupus erythematosus patients is relatively weak, and they are especially prone to catching cold and other diseases, which can trigger or aggravate the attack of lupus erythematosus. In addition, spring is the season for traveling. Clinically, many lupus erythematosus patients have stable disease after treatment, but relapse is caused by the exertion of spring trekking. Therefore, patients with lupus erythematosus should prevent colds and avoid exertion in spring. Spring is the flowering season, and a lot of pollen can be emitted in the air, which can cause allergy to lupus patients and should be prevented so as not to aggravate the disease. In summer, the weather is hot and the sunlight is strong and shines directly on the ground. In addition, the dry climate in autumn makes it easy to have respiratory tract damage, and patients with lupus lung damage and oral ulcers should pay attention to prevent recurrence. Cold stimulation can directly stimulate the skin in winter, causing spasmodic contraction of epidermal capillaries, poor peripheral circulation, frostbite erythema on the face, auricles and fingertips, and aggravating the occurrence of Raynaud’s phenomenon. In addition, attention should be paid to the selection of neutral skin care products in winter to avoid causing skin allergy or acid-base irritation to the skin.
What should be noted in the diet of lupus patients
The following foods should be contraindicated: (1) seafood, commonly known as “hairy things”. Some patients with lupus erythematosus have allergies after eating seafood (most of the lupus patients are hypoallergic), which can trigger or aggravate the disease; (2) mutton, dog meat, venison, cinnamon, which are warm and hot in nature and can aggravate the patient’s internal heat symptoms after eating; (3) cilantro and celery, which can cause photoallergy and aggravate the patient’s facial erythema, so they should not be eaten; (4) spicy foods, such as chili, raw onion and raw garlic, which can aggravate the patient’s internal heat. The phenomenon.
Also note the following points.
Most of the patients who attack the kidneys are accompanied by edema, and hormone therapy will lead to water and sodium retention, so salt intake should be restricted, and water should be limited when edema is present to avoid aggravating edema symptoms. Long-term use of hormones can lead to disorders of glucose metabolism and even complications of diabetes mellitus. Therefore, during the long-term use of hormone therapy, it is advocated to eat less food with high sugar. In addition, the loss of bone calcium increases after long-term use of hormone, which may cause osteoporosis and osteonecrosis in serious cases. Therefore, in addition to regular calcium supplements, more calcium-containing foods should be eaten. In fact, the taboo of lupus erythematosus is very complicated and varies from person to person. The principle of mastering is neither “choking” nor “reckless”, and patients can master it appropriately according to their own body experience. If you have renal insufficiency, you should have a low protein, low phosphorus diet).
Can lupus patients smoke?
Many lupus patients are young women, and although most of them do not smoke, they still work and study and live in an environment where many of them smoke, which is what we usually call passive smoking, which is sometimes more harmful than active smoking. Since tobacco itself contains disease-causing hydrazine substances, passive smoking should be avoided as much as possible.
What physical exercises can lupus patients do?
Patients with lupus erythematosus should keep exercising and avoid excessive bed rest. Some activities that can enhance muscle strength and improve the endurance of the body are very beneficial to the disease. However, they should also pay attention to protecting their joints damaged by inflammation, and swimming, walking and cycling are recommended, while some recreational activities, especially those requiring high ligaments and tendons, such as rowing, weight lifting, golf, tennis, etc., should vary from person to person.
What are the psychological aspects that should be paid attention to in lupus patients?
Needless to say, lupus erythematosus is indeed a chronic, persistent and difficult disease. With this disease, some people lose their confidence in treatment and become depressed, or even go to the end. In fact, this is totally unnecessary. Although lupus is a persistent disease, it is not a stubborn disease, especially with the improvement of medical level, we are getting closer to conquer it completely. In the treatment process of lupus erythematosus, active participation and cooperation of patients are needed: maintaining optimism, good doctor-patient relationship, and support from family and friends. Because only by keeping optimistic emotions can we establish confidence in winning; only by keeping optimistic emotions can we better cooperate with doctors in treatment; only by keeping optimistic emotions can we better take care of ourselves; only by keeping optimistic emotions can we more fully mobilize the body’s potential and finally get rid of the disease.
Which topical drugs can be used to treat rashes?
When skin damage occurs in lupus erythematosus patients, some topical preparations are commonly used, such as 3% quinine ointment, compound diamorphine titanium ointment, 15% para-aminobenzoin ointment and so on. Among them, the most effective and safe are all kinds of glucocorticoid topical preparations, which can be fluoride containing or non-fluoride containing, low potency or high potency. Most fluoride-free glucocorticoid-based preparations include hydrocortisone creams and ointments, which are readily available and inexpensive. Try to use preparations containing less fluoride to avoid side effects such as skin atrophy, hyperpigmentation, acne, folliculitis, and mycotic infections.
Is lupus erythematosus contagious?
The incidence rate of lupus erythematosus in China is 0.7 per 1000 people, which is several times higher than the incidence rate in western developed countries. However, the incidence rate is still relatively small compared with other common and multiple diseases, so patients are still relatively rare in clinical practice. Because of the small number of patients, most patients have little knowledge about lupus before they get sick, and they are afraid when they hear about the disease or see lupus patients, and often “turn pale when they talk about lupus”. It is only after they have preliminary understanding of the disease that their mood is stabilized. One of the main concerns of many patients’ families after the patients’ diagnosis is whether the disease will be contagious? The answer is no. However, the cause of lupus erythematosus is still unknown, and most patients may have genetic defects in immune regulation underlying the pathogenesis of the disease. A number of environmental factors, including food, drugs (hydrazinopyridazine, procainamide, alpha-methyldopa, isoniazid, penicillin, D-penicillamine, aminosalicylic acid, etc.), ultraviolet light and microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, parasites) may trigger the disease. Therefore, lupus is not an infectious disease and patients with lupus can work and study as normal people.
Significance of menstruation in female patients
Female lupus patients are prone to menstrual disorders or menopause, which can be caused by the disease itself or by medications such as cyclophosphamide and tretinoin. Although menstrual discontinuation after taking the medication may result in some symptoms similar to menopause such as hot flashes and short temper, it may be beneficial to lupus itself, so there is no need to worry about menstrual discontinuation. Most patients can resume menstruation after stopping the medication and cannot use estrogen replacement therapy. Patients should usually pay attention to changes in menstruation and should still take care to use contraception (instrumental contraception) after menopause. If menstruation suddenly comes after discontinuation, attention should be paid to whether lupus is active and should be reviewed promptly. For young patients who have the desire to have children, they can choose drugs that have as little effect on menstruation as possible.
Can lupus patients get married and have children?
Most lupus patients are young women, and many patients are concerned about whether they can fall in love, get married and have children. In fact, the psychological, physical and sexual functions of lupus patients are normal. At the early stage of the disease and after the disease is stabilized with medication, it is completely possible to fall in love, get married and have sex like normal people, but the number of sexual intercourse should be small, and it is appropriate not to feel fatigue. Normal marriage and sexual life do not cause lupus to recur, but pregnancy may trigger lupus activity. It is generally believed that when a lupus patient’s disease is not yet under control and is in the active stage, once pregnancy can not only lead to the aggravation of the patient’s disease (proteinuria, hypertension, edema, etc.), but also easily lead to miscarriage, premature birth, fetal dysplasia, etc.). According to statistics, the fetal mortality rate of such patients is 2-3 times higher than that of normal people; 60% of the delivered fetuses have lower than normal weight. This is because when the mother is in active lupus, immune complexes are deposited in the basement membrane of the placental trophectoderm, resulting in poor blood supply to the placenta and thus affecting the blood circulation of the fetus, leading to fetal growth retardation or even death. In the past, lupus was once considered a contraindication to pregnancy, but with the progress of research on lupus in pregnancy, it is now believed that lupus patients are not completely infertile, but pregnancy can only be carried out under the guidance of a doctor after the lupus activity is controlled.
Is lupus hereditary?
Investigations have shown that lupus has a certain tendency to be inherited, but many lupus patients have very healthy children who do not have lupus. In fact, lupus develops as a result of a combination of genetic defects and pathogenic factors such as infection, endocrine and environmental factors. Therefore, it can only be said that lupus has a genetic background, but it is not a hereditary disease, and lupus patients should not be overly worried about passing their disease to their children.
Is lupus erythematosus curable?
Lupus erythematosus is not an incurable disease, and it can be controlled with medication. The medication can make the disease go into long-term remission and live like a normal person. With the continuous development of science and the progress of medical treatment, it is believed that with the joint efforts of doctors and patients, lupus will be completely controlled and the efficacy of long-term treatment will be further improved.