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Hi! Welcome to Sharon's Lupus Page!
Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul.
Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.
- - - - Ralph Vaull Starr
The Anatomy Of Lupus
Hi there, I will try to be of some help if I can.
The answer to the question I get most, which is about imflamation and swelling, is found in the very cells of your body, specifically the cells of your immune system.
I will start with a look at the healthy immune system and how it goes awry with
lupus.
The immune system is the body's defense team so to speak. It's a network of cells that guard the body against an outside world of potential enemies, such
as bacteria, parasites, viruses, fungi.
The wonder to me of the immune system is its ability to distinguish the "self"
from the "nonself"--substances that rightly belong to the body from those that
don't. Almost every cell in the body is marked by a molecule that signals
"self". This includes cells from every body system --the heart, lung, blood,
tissues, et cetera. The healthy immune system knows to leave
these marked cells alone.
But anything that isn't a "self" molecule-carrying member of the body catches the attention of the defense team and triggers and immune response. The
"nonself" proteins that trigger an immune response are known as antigens. That
word literally means "against a species".
Stationed throughout the body are organs that breed and nurture the varied
members of the immune system's defense team. They are known as lymphoid organs,
They include--
The tonsils and adenoids
The lymph nodes
The thymus
The spleen
Peyer's patches
The appendix
The bone marrow
The lymphatic vessels
Like all cells, the immune system's defense team is born in the bone marrow.
Some of these cells grow up to become lymphocytes, while others become
phagocytes. Immune cells then travel to the immune organs, where they wait for
signals to launch an attack against any intruder.
Lymphocytes-- Also called lymph cells, lymphocytes are small white blood cells
that carry out much of the immune defense. There are three types: B cells, T
cells and natural killer cells. (I can go into more detail about each one if
you wish).
Phagocytes-These are large white cells which, true to their name, eat ("phago")
cells ("cytes") and digest them. Or they trap the antigen and hand it over to B
cells or T cells. This group of cell-eaters includes monocytes, macropghages,
and Granulocytes. (I can also go into more detail here if you wish).
COMPLEMENT----------- The COMPLEMENT system is a group of more than twenty
proteins which in their effort to control infection contribute to inflammation.
The linking of antibody to antigen stimulates a chain reaction of complement.
At the end of this chain is a membrane attack complex--a kind of sword that
punctures the target antigen, causing it to explode.
In people with lupus, levels of complement are lower than normal, either because
of the high level of inflammation or because of a disease-related problem in
producing it.
Inflammation--In inflammation, complement signals blood vessels to open up
wider, ushering in more blood--and defenses-to fight off the antigen. This is
what causes the redness of inflammation around an infected area. The
macrophages, called to the batttle site by T cells, release toxic substances
that help them digest immune complexes. (While these substances often help in
defense, they can also spill out into healthy tissue and start mistakenly eating
away at it, as though it were antigen.) Complement also makes the vessels
leaky, allowing white cells to pour into tissue. This is what causes the
swelling and tenderness of inflammation.
Once the offending antigen is under control, T cells call a halt to the immune
reaction. Ending the immune response is just as important as starting it. If
the T cells don't signal an end to immune activity, the inflammatory process
will continue uncontrolled. With Lupus this overzealous immune reaction can
cause direct harm to your body.
I can go into how this team works together if you wish, just email me.
The Lupus system, like the allergic immune system, suffers from a serious case
of myopia. It mistakes the self for nonself. As a result, the immune system
attacks the very being it's meant to protect: the self. To put it another way,
the body acts as though it were suddenly allergic to its own blood.
The body's own cells, tissues and organs become the innocent targets of
antibodies (or autoantibodies, because they are directed against the self.)
Instead of attacking alien substances, the misguided autoantibodies target
healthy cells, cell components and tissue. They react against the fundamental
structure of cells--the nuclei(core) of cells and part of the cell
walls(phospholipids).
In people with Lupus, the immune system falters on several other levels: the B
cells are hypercharged and the team of suppressor T cells is understaffed. As a
result, not only does the immune system attack the wrong target (cells from its
own body), but the immune response gets out of control.
Another major problem is that the antibody-antigen complex, normally swept out
of the bloodstream my macrophages, cannot be removed. It lingers and
accumulates on tissues. Remember--the complexes activate complement, which ends
in inflammation. In Lupus, these immune complexes cause inflammation wherever
they settle.
I can address the meds and treatment for Lupus if anyone wants or needs that information, please email me.
I can also address the Depression and coping with Lupus if you wish.
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