lupus

[dhealey]

I have had some strange symptoms of late and did some research on lupus, I have many of the symptoms and was wondering if anyone on the board has this disease and can give me some input on it. I see my oncologist on April 1st. I have alot of joint pain, photosensitive rash that comes out on my face, hands and wrists. I have stopped all AI's months ago, even the tamoxifen. Finished herceptin in January and chemo last Feb. I have also been very fatigued in the past month. Thyriod has checked out ok. Thanks for any input you all have.

[Becca]

Debbie, I have systemic lupus. It started a few years after the first chemo and radiation I had back in 1999. The rheumy said it likely was caused by cancer treatments. I have never heard of anyone else having it from cancer treatments, so who can say? I use darvocet to deal with the pain along with other difficulties from the treatments I now take for the BC mets. There is also another member of this site who has lupus, perhaps others.

I started to have pain and swelling in my limbs--elbows through hands, knees through feet plus lots of fatigue. I had shown my rash to my GP months before and he had no idea. (My rash is red pinpoints on face,limbs, and especially across my abdomen--being in the sun really makes it appear.) The GP had ultrasound on limbs, looking for bloodclots, and blood tests done. The blooddtests showed a high ANA. More advanced bloodtests confirmed lupus.

Debbie, there are probably many other things a lot less serious than lupus that could be causing your symptoms. So try not to cross that bridge at this time. Your onco will order tests, or send you to your GP to be tested. Many people live fairly normal lives with lupus, and it can go into remission. Please keep us posted on what you find out. Hoping for the best for you. Becca

[R.B.]

Hi Dhealey

I know virtually nothing about lupus.

I have seen it mentioned as an inflammatory condition which may be affected by fats intake - we are back to Omega 3 and 6 again.

Here is a link to some trials based on a search of Lupus and DHA a long chain Omega Three. Some trials will not be relevant as DHA stands for other things to.

Sorry I have not sorted them out I am a bit short of time at the moment.

This is a starter you are looking for n-3 Omega 3 docosahexaenoic acid in the titles.

Omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
Simopoulos AP.

The Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, Washington, DC 20009, USA. cgnh@bellatlantic.net

Among the fatty acids, it is the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which possess the most potent immunomodulatory activities, and among the omega-3 PUFA, those from fish oil-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)--are more biologically potent than alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Some of the effects of omega-3 PUFA are brought about by modulation of the amount and types of eicosanoids made, and other effects are elicited by eicosanoid-independent mechanisms, including actions upon intracellular signaling pathways, transcription factor activity and gene expression. Animal experiments and clinical intervention studies indicate that omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties and, therefore, might be useful in the management of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Coronary heart disease, major depression, aging and cancer are characterized by an increased level of interleukin 1 (IL-1), a proinflammatory cytokine. Similarly, arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and lupus erythematosis are autoimmune diseases characterized by a high level of IL-1 and the proinflammatory leukotriene LTB(4) produced by omega-6 fatty acids. There have been a number of clinical trials assessing the benefits of dietary supplementation with fish oils in several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases in humans, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis and migraine headaches. Many of the placebo-controlled trials of fish oil in chronic inflammatory diseases reveal significant benefit, including decreased disease activity and a lowered use of anti-inflammatory drugs.

PMID: 12480795 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...rm=lupus%20dha


You might like to look at the Greek Diet thread if you have not done so

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...ght=greek+diet

[dhealey]

Becca and R.B.

Thank you for your input. The doctor I work for did labwork on me today. Sould have the results back in a few days and I see my oncologist next week. The doc I work for thinks this could be rheumatoid arthritis or lupus caused from my treatments. Anyway you have both been a big help. Thank you. Will let you know what the out come is.

[R.B.]

You are welcome.

The Omega information applies to arthritis as well.

Your post was a help. I realised I had lupus on my list of conditions but no section for it.

Here are some quotes I found.

“These results suggest that n-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, are useful in the management of SLE and possibly, other similar collagen vascular diseases.”

“Many of the placebo-controlled trials of fish oil in chronic inflammatory diseases reveal significant benefit, including decreased disease activity and a lowered use of anti-inflammatory drugs.”

“Therefore, the use of n-3 fatty acids can be recommended to the general healthy population, not only to prevent atherosclerosis but possibly also to reduce the risk of autoimmunity.”

Beneficial effect of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids in the management of systemic lupus erythematosus and its relationship to the cytokine network. -Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 1994 Sep;51(3):207-13. - Das UN. -Department of Medicine, Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Punjagutta, Hyderabad, India.

Omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation and autoimmune diseases.- J Am Coll Nutr. 2002 Dec;21(6):495-505. - Simopoulos AP. -The Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, Washington, DC 20009, USA

n-3 fatty acids and the immune system in autoimmunity. -Isr Med Assoc J. 2002 Jan;4(1):34-8. - Ergas D, Eilat E, Mendlovic S, Sthoeger ZM. - Department of Internal Medicine B, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel.