Lupus explained amid new hope of cure for debilitating condition mainly affecting women

Scientists have provided new hope there may one day be a cure for the condition which sees the immune system malfunction.

Around 69,000 people in the UK are thought to have lupus which mostly affects . Patients see the body’s natural defences attack healthy tissue and in severe cases cause life-threatening damage to the heart, lungs or brain.

B cells become overactive and produce autoantibodies that attack healthy cells. It causes , fevers, hair loss, stomach pain and can lead to kidney failure. People often take drugs for life, ranging from ibuprofen to steroid tablets and injections, or other immunosuppressant or biological medicines.

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The guidance is clear that lupus is not contagious but its causes are not fully understood. Possible causes include a viral infection, certain medicines, sunlight, puberty, childbirth and the menopause.

Consultant paediatric rheumatologist Professor Michael Beresford explained: “Childhood lupus is a condition where the body’s immune system reacts for some reason against its own tissues. Up to 20% of people present in childhood but it will affect them in many different ways. Some children will have skin or joint involvement. Others it may affect a major organ so they could have kidney disease. It can affect their neurological system so it can affect their brain or how their nerves work. In others it can affect their heart or lungs.

“Lupus unfortunately is potentially a fatal disease so in young people who are not diagnosed who have a very aggressive form they can become very unwell. Unfortunately children can die from lupus if not diagnosed and treated. That, thankfully, is now very unusual but even so children can present to hospital very unwell where even the doctors don’t initially think about lupus. They don’t think children can get lupus sometimes so it may take a while before they diagnose it.

“Prompt diagnosis and starting treatment is very important with lupus. The reason for that is if we switch the inflammation off there’s less chance of causing damage to the areas of the body affected. Therefore in the long term the outcome for the child or young person is better.”

Lupus can range from mild to severe, with common symptoms including joint pain, skin problems, fatigue and inflammation. More women than men get lupus and it is more common in women with an African, Caribbean, Asian or Chinese heritage.

Now a "groundbreaking" drug is being trialled in the first Brits to try to cure lupus and scientists suspect it could also be repurposed to tackle other autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis. Professor Ben Parker, a consultant rheumatologist at Royal Infirmary, is leading the trial of a new CAR-T to “correct” the immune system, which until now has only been used for blood cancer.

He said: "What currently is available [for lupus] are treatments that suppress the immune system, that you have to continually take, that are partially effective in most people, very effective in a few people and ineffective in a substantial number of patients with lupus.”

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