Medical Health Encyclopedia

Widespread SLE. Most commonly, SLE is a chronic, life-long disease, alternating between periods of symptom-relapse, (called flares), and remission. The disease may begin in any of the various systems of the body and progress unpredictably to others. The following are typical patterns:

• Symptom relapses, or flares, occur on the average of two or three times a year.
• Between flares, most patients with SLE function at about 90% of normal capacity.

The degree of severity depends on different factors:

• Severity of the inflammatory response
• Frequency of episodes
• The degree of organ or system involvement

Vital organs or systems, such as lungs, kidneys, nervous system, joints skin, and others are affected in 50 - 75% of patients with SLE. Infections followed by kidney failure are the chief causes of death in patients with SLE.

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Because of more effective and aggressive treatment, the prognosis for SLE has improved markedly over the past two decades. Long-term progress of the disease is affected greatly by treatment in the initial acute phase of the disease, so a speedy and accurate diagnosis is all-important. The 10-year survival rate with treatment is now 85 - 95% and many people have a normal life span. SLE that develops later in life is generally less serious than SLE that strikes in childhood.

Complications of the Blood

Almost 85% of patients with SLE experience problems associated with abnormalities in the blood.

Anemia. About half of patients with SLE are anemic. Causes include:

• Iron deficiencies resulting from excessive menstruation
• Iron deficiencies from GI bleeding caused by some of the treatments
• A specific anemia called hemolytic anemia, which destroys red blood cells

Hemolytic anemia can occur with very high levels of the anticardiolipin antibody. It can be chronic or develop suddenly and severely (acute).