Support in a Christian Environment,Rest Ministries offers resources for people who live with lupus / SLE such as daily devotionals, support groups, newsletters, online discussion lists, chat, and much more.We hope that we can assist you in meeting some of the emotional and spiritual needs that you may be experiencing while living with lupus. Click here to get involved for lupus support.

What is lupus? Lupus is a chronic (long-lasting) autoimmune disease where the immune system, for unknown reasons, becomes hyperactive & attacks normal tissue. This attack results in inflammation & brings about symptoms.

What does autoimmune mean? 'Auto' means 'self', so autoimmune literally means that the immune system fights the body itself. Instead of fighting & attacking the bad tissues, such as viruses, it turns on itself & attacks the good tissues. What is inflammation? It is a protective process our body uses when tissues are injured. Inflammation helps to eliminate a foreign body or organism (virus, bacteria) & prevent further injury. Signs of inflammation include- swelling, redness, warmth & pain. What are antibodies? Antibodies are proteins produced by white blood cells (Blymphocytes).

Their normal function is to glue up bacteria and make them easy for the white blood cells to capture and destroy. When the immune system goes wrong, antibodies can be formed that bind to bits of the body (an auto-antibody). Sometimes infection can cause auto-antibodies to be produced and this may be one of the causes of Lupus. The antibodies circulate in the blood, but some of the body's cells have walls permeable enough to let some antibodies in. These can then attack the DNA in the cell's nucleus. That's why some organs can be attacked during a flare while others aren't.

 

Lupus Connection