The Embody Program

Arkansas Chapter

Arkansas

Information on Lupus Foundation of America, Inc., Arkansas Chapter

TYPES OF LUPUS: There are many types of lupus. Cutaneous lupus, which includes discoid lupus, is limited to the skin and is identified by a rash that may appear on the face, neck, or scalp. The rash may be more apparent on areas of the skin exposed to ultraviolet light (e.g., sunlight, fluorescent light). Although there are man types of lupus rash, the most common is raised scaly, and red, but not itchy.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may include discoid lupus but also involves other parts of the body. It is usually more severe than discoid lupus. This type of lupus leads to inflammation. For some people this may be limited to skin and joint involvement. In others, the joints lungs, kidneys, blood or other organs and/or tissues may be affected. SLE may include periods in which few, if any, symptoms are evident (remission) and other times in which the disease becomes active (flare). The most predictable feature of systemic lupus is that it is unpredictable.

Certain prescribed drugs can create a lupus-like syndrome, called drug-induced lupus, which is similar to SLE. This lupus very rarely affects either the kidneys or the nervous system. The drugs most commonly connected with drug-induced lupus are no longer used as often as they used to be. They are hydralazine (used to treat hypertension) and procainamide (used to treat irregular heart rhythms). Only a minority of people who take these drugs will develop drug-induced lupus. When the medications are discontinued, the symptoms of lupus usually fade. Many other drugs have been implicated more rarely in rug-induced lupus, and some of these agents are still in wide use today.

The antiphospholipid syndrome, Sjogren’s syndrome, and thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s disease) are examples of manifestations of lupus-like symptoms which can occur on their own (as primary “single organ” syndromes), but are often found in patients with systemic lupus as well. In this way, they are similar to Cutaneous lupus and should be included in the broad range of illnesses linked to lupus.

Excerpt from Introduction to Lupus brochure by Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.

All of our Hot Springs Lupus Support Group Meetings Include other autoimmune diseases, Mixed Connective Disease, Fibromyalgia, etc.

MEETINGS

Every 2^nd Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Delta – AHEC

1393 Hwy. 242 S

Helena-West Helena, AR

LaSha Avance – Chairperson

870-572-9186 or 800-294-8878

Every Other Month (using the odd months) Tuesday at 6:30 pm.

Levi Hospital – Boardroom (2^nd Floor)

Next Meeting Nov. 15, 2011 - Speaker Liz Michaels, RN, BSN Clinical Nurse Educator, Immunology Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Com. with BENSYLA) - From Rockville, MD

300 Prospect Avenue - Hot Springs, AR

Jamesetta Smith – Facilitator

501-525-9380 or 800-294-8878

Every other month on the 2nd Thursday at 11:00 a.m.

LFA, Arkansas Chapter, Texarkana Support Group Meeting

Mount Grove Baptist Church Fellowship Hall

2801 Arkansas Boulevard - Texarkana, AR

Chairperson: Olympia Forte' – Facilitator

870-330-4321 or 800-294-8878

All meetings are free and open to the public!

Arkansas Chapter, Inc.

220 Mockingbird

Hot Springs, AR 71913

501-525-9380 or 800-294-8878

Jamesetta Smith, President - Email: lupusarkhs@direclynx.net