THURSDAY, Aug. 29, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- The first significant new screening test for lupus in 40 years has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The test was devised by scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and is expected to spot up to 20 percent of cases that, using today's testing methods, would have gone undetected.
Lupus is a chronic disorder in which a person's immune system attacks the body. The new test is meant to combat the severest and potentially fatal form of the disease -- systematic lupus erythematosis (SLE). The disease causes inflammation of connective tissue throughout a person's body, from the joints to the kidneys.
Symptoms range from skin rash and mild fatigue to organ failure, often making diagnosis difficult.
Most lupus patients produce an antibody that is detectable via a blood test devised in the 1960s. The new test should detect the disease among those patients who don't produce this antibody, according to the the test's creators.
This information sheet from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases defines lupus and may help in directing you to the proper treatment.
It may take some time before the screening test is available nationwide. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer center has filed for patent protection and is looking for a commercial partner to help market and distribute the test.
