In brief: Severe lupus responds to stem cell therapy
In brief
Lupus — more accurately called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) — is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects some 1.5 million people, 90% of them women. It usually starts during the childbearing years. Lupus causes the immune system to turn on the body and attack various organs and tissues, especially the skin and joints. It can also cause inflammation in the kidneys, lungs, blood vessels, and brain. Lupus ranges in severity from mild disease characterized by skin rashes, achy joints, and fatigue to serious conditions resulting from damage to the kidneys, lung, heart, and brain. Symptoms tend to come and go as periods of illness (flares) alternate with remissions.
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