Unlocking the Secrets of Lupus

Forbes

Lupus (SLE) was described in the 1800s, and doctors still don’t know how to treat it. In these patients, the body makes antibodies that attack itself, manifesting as joint problems, kidney problems, rashes, fevers—many organs may be affected. There have been no new drugs in 50 years for this disease—and steroids are the only effective drug, but side effects preclude long-term use. A new drug that may help a small proportion of lupus sufferers—belimumab—is starting final stages of studies for submission to the FDA for clearance. When the patient population studied was limited to those with active antibodies at the time of enrollment, the group given the drug had significant symptom improvements in 43%, compared to 34 % in the placebo group. The race is on from a number of pharmaceutical companies to be the first on the market for this group.

Dr. Gardner’s comments:

Millions and millions of dollars are spent on these studies, trying to find a medication that will control the antibody against a person’s own body without affecting other parts of the immune system. Can you imagine how many more people that could be helped or prevented from even getting the disease in the first place if we spent that kind of money on prevention? Although the exact cause or triggering event for most auto-immune diseases, or allergies, for that matter, is usually unknown, there are some things that we do that reduce the symptoms. These include simple things like

1. cleaning up the diet, getting off junk food and pop and sugar, and

2. getting the nutrients needed through supplements.

3. Getting rid of toxins is also important, including toxic metals that may set up a Type IV allergic reaction.

4. There may be unusual organisms that may be triggering the reactions, like Mycoplasma, C. pneumonia, or even some spirochetes.

5. Reducing stress levels (lupus symptoms are often triggered by stress).

If aggressively reducing the above 5 factors can reduce symptoms, imagine what could be done to prevent them altogether if managing each of those factors is advocated. Since we don’t know exactly what causes it, let’s get rid of the triggers that make it worse.  Make sense?