October is Lupus Awareness Month: Mystery Illness Strikes Young Women

No doubt learning that one’s unexplained symptoms—including extreme fatigue, joint pain, sun-sensitivity or a rash—are caused by the disease lupus is a frightening experience for a young woman. But, for many, awareness is the first step toward healthier living.

October is National Lupus Awareness Month, and the Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR) is urging young women, who make up the majority of new lupus patients, to learn more about this mysterious illness. “Part of the Alliance for Lupus Research’s charge is to help build awareness about this disease,” said Barbara Boyts, president of ALR. “With greater awareness among physicians and patients we are beginning to see improved diagnoses and care, and anticipate continued advances.”

“Research is helping lupus patients lead healthier lives,” said Joseph E. Craft, M.D., the ALR’s scientific advisory board chair. “There have been remarkable advances in our understanding of the disease, from its cause, to new treatment approaches.”

Lupus, an autoimmune disease, triggers the body to attack healthy organs and tissues, and affect any part of the body. Common symptoms include achy or swollen joints, prolonged or extreme fatigue, frequent fevers, rashes, sun-sensitivity, or mouth ulcers.

Robert Wood Johnson IV, of the Johnson & Johnson healthcare family and owner of the NFL’s New York Jets, and the Arthritis Foundation, founded the non-profit ALR. Since 1999, the ALR has committed more than $24 million to research to prevent, treat and eventually cure this disease.#

For more information, contact the Alliance for Lupus Research at (800) 867-1743 and www.lupusresearch.org.

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