The National Health Council Standards of Excellence Certification Program recognizes the Lupus Foundation of America for meeting the highest standards of accountability, ethical practice, organizational effectiveness, and good public stewardship.

Our mission is to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus through programs of research, education, support and advocacy.

May is Lupus Awareness Month. Some people call lupus an “invisible illness” because it is often not recognizable to others. CDC and partners are working to make lupus visible by raising awareness about this disease. Read on to learn more about lupus among women.

Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) works to find better treatments and prevent and cure systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus), an autoimmune disease, by supporting medical research.

Rachelle Goins, a former D.C. resident and current ambassador with the Lupus Foundation of America, calls the disease a “cruel mystery” because it is so often misdiagnosed. She experienced her first flare up in the fall of 2015, but wasn't diagnosed until nearly two years later - after seeing a number of doctors.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is the most common type of lupus. SLE is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks its own tissues, causing widespread inflammation and tissue damage in the affected organs. It can affect the joints, skin, brain, lungs, kidneys, and blood vessels.

Symptoms of lupus can include:

• Arthritis, causing painful and swollen joints and morning stiffness.
• Fevers.
• Feeling tired often (fatigue).
• Rashes.
• Hair loss.
• Sores, which are usually painless, in the nose and mouth.

Lupus can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms vary so widely. People with mild lupus may have just a few symptoms, such as skin rashes or achy joints. In other cases, lupus can harm essential organs, including the kidneys and brain.

Purple is the designated color for lupus awareness. This color may have been chosen because lupus can cause purple or red spots on your skin, a symptom known as purpura. In addition, some people notice livedo reticularis, a lattice-like pattern of purplish discoloration under the skin.

The estimated value of global systemic lupus erythematosus market in 2021 was accounted to be USD 1,951 Million.

People with active infections of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Graves' disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and multiple sclerosis are disqualified from donating blood. It's due to factors such as their thyroid levels, medications required, and other unknown factors that can potentially impact their blood.

Lupus derives its name from the Latin word for wolf, and early descriptions of this disease used the term to describe the facial lesions that look like a wolf's bite. SLE has pleiotropic clinical manifestations and profound clinical heterogeneity, making its diagnosis and treatment very challenging.