For more info on lupus please visit our website
www.lupus.org.uk.
Unfortunately people do die from the affects that lupus has on the body - it can attack internal organs. It is also treatable, particularly if caught quickly. Our problem is lack of awareness so hopefully Big Brother may help to highlight the condition.
Each case is very individual so some patients live with it being a bit annoying to unfortunately worst case scenario they die - usually from organ failure. Certain ethnic groups are more prone to lupus than others, and 90% of patients are female.
It is not contagious it is within certain people and it gets 'switched on' - hormones are one trigger - hence mostly female patients. Once triggered it is incurable, you certainly can't 'get rid of it' but sometimes it goes into remission.
It is much more common than people think, certainly than ms, leukaemia and muscular dystrophy. The only reason people don't know about it is the reluctance of the media to cover it.
A number of celebrities have lupus: Michael Jackson and Seal both have discoid lupus (the skin version) - hence the scarring on Seals face. The celebrities connected to lupus (either they have it or a family member does) are in our gallery on the website.
The comment about the baby getting lupus - there's a small possibility but we have a normal success rate with pregnancies here. It was also thought that lupus caused miscarriages but that is a connected illness which causes sticky blood (again very treatable once diagnosed).
Hope that helps
Angie Davidson
St Thomas' Lupus Trust