Take Advantage of a Free Opportunity to Ask the Doctor about Lupus - Live

Lupus International invites you to attend a live webcast with Dr. Robert H. Lahita, a Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Vice President-Chairman of Medicine at the Jersey City Medical Center, which is the Jersey City Campus of the Mount Sinai Medical School of New York City. Join us for this free unique one on one opportunity on Monday, November 27, 2006 at 1:30 pm PST/4:30 pm EST. Patients, friends and family members can ask Dr. Robert H. Lahita questions about lupus, related conditions, treatments and much more. Lupus International is proud to offer this opportunity to anyone that desires to learn more about lupus. Click on the link that reads "live webcast coming soon". Every day Lupus International receives calls from people seeking information about this devastating disease. Many times when people are diagnosed with this disease, they have already been suffering for quite some time. It takes an average 4-5 years to be diagnosed. During this time, Lupus can attack the organs. In many cases, organ failure and loss of life can be prevented through early treatment. Dr. Lahita is the author of more than 13 books and 150 scientific publications in the field of autoimmunity. He is the editor of the standard textbook called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (fourth edition just published) and the Senior Editor of the Textbook of Autoimmunity, published last year. Dr. Lahita is a reviewer for some 15 medical journals and on the editorial boards of three. When people are diagnosed they are quite often devastated and confused. The primary purpose of the webcast is to help educate anyone interested in learning more about this disease and its complexities.

Lupus International focuses on support and education for those who have lupus and their families. Communication is the key to understanding the critical needs of lupus sufferers. People need to be aware that while people with this illness look fine, the ravage of their bodies, the difficulty in daily living, the coping with severe pain are very tough to live with. A cure is desperately needed. Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE) is a chronic disease that can cause inflammation, pain, and tissue damage throughout the body. Lupus is an auto-immune disorder whereby the body's immune system attacks the recipient and manifests itself in a myriad of ways. Lupus affects more than 4 million people. The cause for this tragic disease is yet unknown, and there is no cure. Treatment is limited to symptomatic control, and toxic side effects to medication are quite common. When a person develops serious Lupus, they may have problems with their kidneys, heart, lungs or blood cells. Lupus can be difficult to diagnose and can mimic other diseases.

According to the Center for Disease Control, Lupus is three times more common in African American women than in white women. It is also more common in women of Hispanic/Latina, Asian, and American Indian descent. Black and Hispanic/Latina women tend to develop symptoms at an earlier age than other women do. Awareness is a key element in the diagnosis of Lupus.