Types of Lupus – Graduate Project

Hello everyone,

These week’s research for my graduate topic was on the different types of lupus. There are four types of lupus Systemic lupus, Cutaneous Lupus, Drug-induced Lupus, and Neonatal Lupus.

First we will start with Systemic lupus Erythematosus. Just to add to the information presented last week, systemic lupus is the most common form of lupus, and is what most people mean when they refer to "lupus." Systemic lupus can be mild or severe and invole multiple organ systems.. Some of the more serious complications involving major organ systems are:

• inflammation of the kidneys (lupus nephritis), which can affect the body’s ability to filter waste from the blood and can be so damaging that dialysis or kidney transplant may be needed


• an increase in blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension)


• inflammation of the nervous system and brain, which can cause memory problems, confusion, headaches, and strokes


• inflammation in the brain’s blood vessels, which can cause high fevers, seizures, behavioral changes,


• hardening of the arteries (coronary artery disease), which is a buildup of deposits on coronary artery walls that can lead to a heart attack

Approximately 70 percent of lupus cases are systemic. In about half of these cases, a major organ will be affected.

　

Next is Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus. Cutaneous refers to the skin, and this form of lupus is limited to the skin. Although there are many types of rashes and lesions caused by cutaneous lupus, the most common rash is raised, scaly and red, but not itchy. It is commonly known as a discoid rash, because the areas of rash are shaped like disks, or circles. Another common example of cutaneous lupus is a rash over the cheeks and across the bridge of the nose, known as the butterfly rash. Other rashes or sores may appear on the face, neck, scalp, other areas of the skin that are exposed to sunlight or fluorescent light, or in the mouth, nose, or vagina. Hair loss and changes in the pigment, or color, of the skin are also symptoms of cutaneous lupus.

Approximately 10 percent of people who have cutaneous lupus will develop systemic lupus. However, it is likely that these people already had systemic lupus, with the skin rash as their main symptom.

Also there is Drug-induced Lupus Erythematosus. Drug-induced lupus is a lupus-like disease caused by certain prescription drugs. The symptoms of drug-induced lupus are similar to those of systemic lupus, but only rarely will any major organs be affected.

The drugs most commonly connected with drug-induced lupus are hydralazine which is used to treat high blood pressure or hypertension, procainamide which is used to treat irregular heart rhythms, and isoniazid which is used to treat tuberculosis. Drug-induced lupus is more common in men because they are given these drugs more often; however, not everyone who takes these drugs will develop drug-induced lupus. The lupus-like symptoms usually disappear within six months after these medications are stopped.

Last but not least there is Neonatal lupus. Before this week, I had never heard of it. Neonatal Lupus is a rare condition that affects infants of women who have lupus and is caused by antibodies from the mother crossing the placenta and acting upon the infant in the womb. At birth, the infant may have a skin rash, liver problems, or low blood cell counts, but these symptoms disappear completely after several months with no lasting effects. Some infants with neonatal lupus can also have a serious heart defect. With proper testing, physicians can now identify most at-risk mothers, and the infant can be treated at or before birth. Most infants of mothers with lupus are entirely healthy.

As always, as I learn more about the disease, I will be passing that information along to you all!!!

Also, for those of you who are interested, I’ve included a link to a journal article on Neonatal Lupus. I  founf it very interesting so check it out.

Until next time, read, comment, and post!

Thanks for reading!!!
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy3.lhl.uab.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e6c9ee31-81ca-4b19-8cbf-1253f5fe35c9%40sessionmgr113&vid=2&hid=111

URT Infections

Hello everyone,

This week in lecture we covered upper respiratory tract (URT) infections. URT infections are very common and unfortunately they have been a constant staple in my life. However after lecture, I realized I didn’t know as much about them as I thought. For starters, infections such as the common cold, thrush, sinusitis, croup, pharyngitis are all URT infections. Also, pharyngitis is the formal name for soar/strep throat and as simple as that sounds, that is something that I didn’t know. There are many organisms that cause pharyngitis such as viruses, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Arcanobacterium haemolyticum, however Streptococcus pyogenes causes 15-35% of those infections.

At some point in our lives we’ve all headed to the doctor complaining of a soar throat and received that awful, gagging swab of the throat and tonsils, with that huge cotton swab. That process is called a throat culture and as awful as it is, it is a vital tool used in diagnosing pharyngitis and isolating Streptococcus pyogenes. This week in lab we were able to work through that diagnostic process. We received a throat swabs, we performed rapid tests, we cultured the swabs, made preliminary identifications and performed confirmatory test on organisms that were isolated from culture, and report our findings in a final report. Lab this week was a lot fun to say the least.

In closing, the lecture/lab combination is ideal for me in learning infectious disease. I get such a deeper understanding when I can apply the knowledge I’ve obtained.

　

Until next time, check out the images below, comment, and post!

Thanks for reading!!!

 

Joke of the day:



SLE - Graduate Project

Hello everyone,

Some of you may know this, but in order to complete the MSCLS program here at UAB, all graduate students are required to complete a graduate project. My graduate project is on Systemic Lupus Erythrematosus (SLE), better known as Lupus. SLE is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system produces antibodies to cells within the body leading to widespread inflammation and tissue damage. SLE is characterized by its multiorgan involvement which can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, nervous system, as well as other organs of the body. The causes of SLE are unknown but are believed to be linked to genetic, environmental, and hormonal factors. SLE is very hard to diagnose because of the multiple factors that play a role in the disease. Because of this, no one test can diagnose or rule out the disease and one would have to present with at least 4 of the 11 typical symptoms to even be considered to have the disease. However, SLE is unpredictable and varies greatly from one individual to the next.

Epidemiological studies on SLE also show marked gender, age, racial, temporal and regional variations as disease triggers. There is higher disease prevalence of SLE in women compared to men with females being affected in 80–90% of the reported cases. Conditions associated with SLE can occur from infancy to old age, with peak occurrence between ages 15 and 40. Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans, are affected more than Caucasians. Although there is a strong familial aggregation, the disease is relatively uncommon and most cases are sporadic within related groups.

So as you can see, there is a lot to be learned about SLE and that is what made it so intriguing to me. With that being said, as I learn more about the disease, I will be passing that information along to you all!!!

Until next time, read, comment, and post!

Thanks for reading!!!

Just to get everyone up to speed

Hello again! Here is my bi-weekly check-in:

Just to get everyone up to speed, the course’s discussions are on bacterial infections by body site. We began with the blood, the CNS, and this week past week we discussed the urinary tract. One thing I’ve learned is the first important step in tackling these topics, is to know what is the normal flora of the site you are dealing with. For instance, blood and CSF are sterile!  NO BUGS SHOULD BE FOUND THERE!!! However, if they are, there’s a problem. And who knew there were so many bacterial causes of meningitis. I only knew of Neisseria meningitidis; I never considered Haemophilus influenzae!  Another interesting fact is that women are at a higher risk for urinary tract infections than men. I learned that in general, women suffer more urinary tract infections than men because women have a shorter urethra. Talk about getting the short end of the stick! But I have to say, the most interesting part of the course is the lab. That’s where we can put it all to use and it makes all the concepts so much clearer. In closing, the course is off to a good start and I’m excited about what’s up ahead.

Also, for those of you who are interested, I’ve included a link to a webpage that I found helpful. It discussed several bacteria and where they are considered normal flora as well as what pathogens they cause. I think it can be very helpful in the student laboratory so check it out.

Until next time, check out the link below, comment, and post!

Thanks for reading!!!

Todar's Online Textbook of Bacteriology http://textbookofbacteriology.net/normalflora.html

Joke of the day:

Hey everyone!

My name is Natashia Reese and welcome to my blog! I am Graduate Student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham studying Clinical Laboratory Science. The purpose of this blog is to fulfill requirements for my M.S. degree so I will be posting interesting topics discussed in my Infectious Disease course, as well as other interesting fun facts I pick up along the way. My greatest interests are Microbiology and Infectious Disease so this should be fun!  Thanks for taking time to read my blog and I hope you visit again. Please feel free to post comments! I look forward to hearing from you!!!

Joke of the day: