Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can cause unpredictable flares of inflammation affecting almost any organ in the body. Although this illness can be relatively mild in many people, in others it can become quite severe or even life threatening, causing serious damage to the kidneys, heart, brain or lungs.
In our research group, we view lupus as an imbalance of the immune system rather than the immune system as some kind of enemy to a lupus patient. It’s there to defend us, not to attack us, but somehow, in lupus, it has become overactive in its defense, leading to excessive inflammation and collateral damage to the body.