Best lupus homeopathic doctor, clinic, treatment & remedies in Sunnyvale
Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can be fatal, though, with recent medical advances, fatalities are becoming increasingly rare. As with other autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body’s cells and tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage. SLE can affect any part of the body, but most often harms the heart, joints, skin, lungs, blood vessels, liver, kidneys, and nervous system. The course of the disease is unpredictable, with periods of illness (called flares) alternating with remissions. Lupus can occur at any age, and is most common in women, particularly of non-European descent. Lupus is treatable symptomatically, mainly with corticosteroids and immunosuppressants, though there is currently no cure. Survival in patients with SLE in the United States, Canada, and Europe is approximately 95% at 5 years, 90% at 10 years, and 78% at 20 years. Best lupus homeopathic doctor, clinic, treatment & remedies in Sunnyvale.
Classification of Systemic lupus erythematosus
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease. Clinically, it can affect multiple organ systems, including the heart, skin, joints, kidneys, and nervous system. There are several types of lupus; generally, when the word “lupus” alone is used, it refers to systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE, as discussed in this article. Other types include:
- Drug-induced lupus erythematosus, a drug-induced form of SLE; this type of lupus can occur equally in either sex.
- Lupus nephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys caused by SLE.
- Discoid lupus erythematosus, a skin disorder that causes a red, raised rash on the face and scalp. Discoid lupus occasionally (1–5%) develops into SLE.
- Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, which causes nonscarring skin lesions on patches of skin exposed to sunlight.
- Neonatal lupus, a rare disease affecting babies born to women with SLE, Sjögren’s syndrome, or sometimes no autoimmune disorder. It is theorized that maternal antibodies attack the fetus, causing skin rash; liver problems; low blood counts, which gradually fade; and heart block, leading to bradycardia.
Signs and symptoms of Systemic lupus erythematosus
SLE is one of several diseases known as “the great imitators” because its symptoms vary so widely, it often mimics or is mistaken for other illnesses and because the symptoms come and go unpredictably. Diagnosis can be elusive, with patients sometimes suffering unexplained symptoms and untreated SLE for years. Common initial and chronic complaints are fever, malaise, joint pains, myalgias, fatigue and temporary loss of cognitive abilities. Because they are so often seen with other diseases, these signs and symptoms are not part of the diagnostic criteria for SLE. When occurring in conjunction with other signs and symptoms (see below), however, they are considered suggestive.
Causes of Systemic lupus erythematosus
Transmission
In SLE, the body’s immune system produces antibodies against itself, particularly against proteins in the cell nucleus. SLE is triggered by environmental factors that are unknown (but probably include viruses) in people with certain combinations of genes in their immune system.
“All the key components of the immune system are involved in the underlying mechanisms” of SLE, according to Rahman, and SLE is the prototypical autoimmune disease. The immune system must have a balance (homeostasis) between being sensitive enough to protect against infection, and being too sensitive and attacking the body’s own proteins (autoimmunity). From an evolutionary perspective, according to Crow, the population must have enough genetic diversity to protect itself against a wide range of possible infection; some genetic combinations result in autoimmunity. The likely environmental triggers include ultraviolet light, drugs, and viruses. These stimuli cause the destruction of cells and expose their DNA, histones, and other proteins, particularly parts of the cell nucleus. Because of genetic variations in different components of the immune system, in some people, the immune system attacks these nuclear-related proteins and produces antibodies against them. Ultimately, these antibody complexes damage to blood vessels in critical areas of the body, such as the glomeruli of the kidney; these antibody attacks are the cause of SLE. Researchers are now identifying the individual genes, the proteins they produce, and their role in the immune system. Each protein is a link in the autoimmune chain, and researchers are trying to find drugs to break each of those links.
SLE is a chronic inflammatory disease believed to be a type III hypersensitivity response with potential type II involvement.
Genetics
The first mechanism may arise genetically. Research indicates that SLE may have a genetic link. Lupus does run in families, but no single “lupus gene” has yet been identified. Instead, multiple genes appear to influence a person’s chance of developing lupus when triggered by environmental factors. The most important genes are located on chromosome 6, where mutations may occur randomly (de novo) or may be inherited. Additionally, people with SLE have an altered RUNX-1 binding site, which may be either cause or contributor (or both) to the condition. Altered binding sites for RUNX-1 have also been found in people with psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.
An environmental triggers
The second mechanism may be due to environmental factors. These factors may not only exacerbate existing lupus conditions but also trigger the initial onset. They include certain medications (such as some antidepressants and antibiotics), extreme stress, exposure to sunlight, hormones, and infections. Some researchers have sought to find a connection between certain infectious agents (viruses and bacteria), but no pathogen can be consistently linked to the disease. UV radiation has been shown to trigger the photosensitive lupus rash, but some evidence also suggests that UV light is capable of altering the structure of the DNA, leading to the creation of autoantibodies. Some researchers have found that women with silicone gel-filled breast implants have produced antibodies to their own collagen, but it is not known how often these antibodies occur in the general population, and there is no data that show that these antibodies cause connective tissue diseases such as lupus.
Drug reactions
Drug-induced lupus erythematosus is a reversible condition that usually occurs in patients being treated for a long-term illness. Drug-induced lupus mimics systemic lupus. However, symptoms of drug-induced lupus generally disappear once a patient is taken off the medication that triggered the episode. There are about 400 medications currently in use that can cause this condition, though the most common drugs are procainamide, hydralazine, quinidine, and Phenytoin.
Non-SLE forms of lupus
Discoid (cutaneous) lupus is limited to skin symptoms and is diagnosed by biopsy of skin rash on the face, neck, or scalp. Often an antinuclear antibody (ANA) test for discoid patients is negative or a low-titer positive. About 1–5% of discoid lupus patients eventually develop SLE.
Homeopathy Treatment for Systemic lupus erythematosus
Homeopathy treats the person as a whole. It means that homeopathic treatment focuses on the patient as a person, as well as his pathological condition. The homeopathic medicines are selected after a full individualizing examination and case-analysis, which includes the medical history of the patient, physical and mental constitution, family history, presenting symptoms, underlying pathology, possible causative factors etc. A miasmatic tendency (predisposition/susceptibility) is also often taken into account for the treatment of chronic conditions. A homeopathy doctor tries to treat more than just the presenting symptoms. The focus is usually on what caused the disease condition? Why ‘this patient’ is sick ‘this way’. The disease diagnosis is important but in homeopathy, the cause of a disease is not just probed to the level of bacteria and viruses. Other factors like mental, emotional and physical stress that could predispose a person to illness are also looked for. No a days, even modern medicine also considers a large number of diseases as psychosomatic. The correct homeopathy remedy tries to correct this disease predisposition. The focus is not on curing the disease but to cure the person who is sick, to restore the health. If a disease pathology is not very advanced, homeopathy remedies do give a hope for the cure but even in incurable cases, the quality of life can be greatly improved with homeopathic medicines.
The homeopathic remedies (medicines) given below indicate the therapeutic affinity but this is not a complete and definite guide to the homeopathy treatment of this condition. The symptoms listed against each homeopathic remedy may not be directly related to this disease because in homeopathy general symptoms and constitutional indications are also taken into account for selecting a remedy.
None of these medicines should be taken without professional advice and guidance.
Homeopathy Remedies for Systemic lupus erythematosus :
Agar., alum., alumn., ant-c., apis., arg-n., ars., ars-i., aur-m., bar-c.., bell., calc., carb-ac., carb-v., caust., cic., cist., graph., guare., hep., hydrc., kali-ar., kali-bi., kali-c., kali-chl., kali-s., kreos., lach., lyc., mag-arct., merc-i-r., nat-m., nit-ac., ol-j., paull., phos., phyt., psor., rhus-t., sabin., sep., sil., spong., staph., sulph., thuj., thyr.
Harminder Singh
D.H.M.S
Homeopathic Consultant
HomeopathicVibes
940, E .El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408)737-7100
www.homeopathicvibes.net