周海媚猝死，究竟紅斑狼瘡是一種如何可怕的疾病？What is lupus and how horrible is it?

a famous Hong Kong actress passed away suddenly; she was said to have lupus she was having difficulty breathing prior to her demise today let's talk about lupus system lupus erythematous(SLE) , the full name of lupus, has been recorded over 2000 years ago the word systemic refers to the fact that it is not a local disease it affects many different systems throughout the body lupus means wolf; a 13th century physician who first name this disease thought the skin rash of a patient with SLE is similar to the wound of a wolf bite erythematous simply means red SLE can affect the central nervous system causing stroke or even impart cognitive function in the skin there is typically a butterfly shaped rash crossing the bridge of the nose sometimes it may cause a skin rash when the skin is exposed to sunlight SLE may also cause arthritis there may be anaemia and low platelets when white blood cells are affected immunity is jeopardised so patients are prone to infections occasionally the membrane around the heart is inflamed with fluid collection the heart itself may be inflamed( myocarditis) the membrane covering the lungs may be inflamed with fluid collection there may be fibrosis(hardening) of the lungs in long term disease tiny blood clots form in the bloodstream and become lodged in the blood vessels in the lungs a particularly fatal complication is inflammation of the kidneys resulting in renal failure it is such a multi system diseases its presenting symptoms are variable and complex it is not easy even for a doctor to diagnosis SLE SLE is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks our own cells it is thought that antibodies are generated to target proteins which fail to clear in our cell nuclei this antibody is know as anti nuclear antibody which may be found in some patients but not all patients have ANA but it cannot be used as the sole diagnostic tool it takes a lot of tests to make the correct diagnosis it is a challenge even for an experienced physicians tissues attacked by the immune system will become inflamed; as they heal scarring may ensue with most patients having a fluctuating courses with time scarring damaged multiple organs the goal of treatment is to reduce the frequency of flare ups and limit their damage that way the decline of body function may be slowed down the classic drug for SLE is antimalarial like hydroxychloroquine a century ago it was discovered it is useful both in malaria and SLE it is thought to be able to control an overactive immune system another classic drug is steroids but its use is limited by the potentially dangerous side effects sometimes anti cancer drugs are used but they are also associated with significant side effects in recent years biologics with fewer side effects have been used successfully in the treatment of SLE SLE may cause difficulty in breathing because it affects the heart and lungs myocarditis may result in narrowed heart valve which can cause shortness of breath it may also cause heart failure sometimes pericarditis cause fluid collection around the heart which may also cause problems with breathing on the other hand lung fibrosis and blood clots in the lungs may affect breathing fluid collection in the membranes covering the lungs add to the problem SLE may also cause heart attack which obviously cause shortness of breath SLE is a horrible disease and I hope more treatment is available in the future see you next time

Channel: Dr. Rex 醫學幼稚園

Views: 632,672

Keywords: 周海媚, 紅斑狼瘡, sle, lupus, 劉榮幹醫生, 醫學幼稚園, dr. rex

Id: yK5x6b0_bSU

Length: 11min 26sec (686 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 16 2023