Living with Lupus

The Lupus Foundation of Southern Arizona provides education and other programs to help people with the disease and their families.

Lupus affects more than a million and a half Americans and is more common than AIDS and several other diseases combined, experts say. Yet the disease is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed.

Here in the Tucson area, the Lupus Foundation of Southern Arizona is trying to raise awareness, educating the public and healthcare workers alike for the sake of those who suffer from the chronic autoimmune disorder.

The group provides support for lupus patients and their families and it also holds fundraisers, such as an annual walk and golf tournament, to raise money for research. One of the recipients is Miranda Adelman, Ph.D., who works at the University of Arizona's Arthritis Center in the Department of Medicine.

Doctor Adelman says there is a major update for lupus sufferers: the federal government is expected to approve a specific treatment for lupus in the near future, and the university played a role in its development by participating in some of the clinical trials. The medicine is called Benlysta and it focuses on the body's B cells.

"There’s other roles for B cells as well, but one of their main roles is to produce antibodies so Benlysta targets these cells and quiets them down in the immune system," says Adelman. "It’s actually one of the first projects I worked on when I joined the faculty here.”

And she says the research is pivotal because many people with lupus crave answers about their condition.

“It’s not yet known what causes lupus, but we know it’s a combination of genetic and environmental factors," she says. “A lot of people with lupus will look perfectly healthy even though the body is struggling and they can be quite sick internally.”

The Lupus Foundation of Southern Arizona is holding its annual "Walk the Loop for Lupus" event on Saturday, April 2nd at Reid Park.