Treatment:

There is no cure for SLE. The goal of treatment is to control symptoms.

Mild disease may be treated with:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) treat arthritis and pleurisy
• Corticosteroid creams to treat skin rashes
• An antimalaria drug (hydroxychloroquine) and low-dose corticosteroids for skin and arthritis symptoms

You should wear protective clothing, sunglasses, and sunscreen when in the sun.

Severe or life-threatening symptoms (such as hemolytic anemia, extensive heart or lung involvement, kidney disease, or central nervous system involvement) often require more aggressive treatment by doctor specialists.

Treatment for more severe lupus may include:

• High-dose corticosteroids or medications to decrease the immune system response
• Cytotoxic drugs (drugs that block cell growth) if you do not get better with corticosteroids, or whose symptoms get worse when the stop taking them. These medicine have serious, severe side effects. You should be closely monitored by your doctor.

If you have lupus, it is also important to have:

• Preventive heart care
• Up-to-date immunizations
• Tests to screen for thinning of the bones (osteoporosis)

Talk therapy and support groups may help relieve depression and mood changes that may occur in patients with this disease.

Support Groups:

See: Lupus resources

Expectations (prognosis):

How well a person does depends on the severity of the disease.

The outcome for people with SLE has improved in recent years. Many people with SLE have mild symptoms.

Women with SLE who become pregnant are often able to carry safely to term and deliver a healthy infant, as long as they do not have severe kidney or heart disease and the SLE is being treated appropriately. However, the presence of SLE antibodies may increase the risk of pregnancy loss.

Complications:

Some people with SLE have abnormal deposits in the kidney cells. This leads to a condition called lupus nephritis. Patients with this condition may eventually develop kidney failure and need dialysis or a kidney transplant.

SLE causes damage to many different parts of the body, including:

• Blood clots in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) or lungs (pulmonary embolism)
• Destruction of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia) or anemia of chronic disease
• Fluid around the heart (pericarditis), endocarditis, or inflammation of the heart (myocarditis)
• Fluid around the lungs (pleural effusions) and damage to lung tissue
• Pregnancy complications, including miscarriage
• Stroke
• Severely low blood platelets (thrombocytopenia)
• Inflammation of the blood vessels

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if you have symptoms of SLE. Also, call if you have this disease and your symptoms get worse or a new one occurs.