SATURDAY, April 16, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- Actor James Garner, whose daughter has lupus, is alerting women to the risks and dangers of this common but poorly understood illness in a new campaign.
The "Get into the Loop" campaign features a 30-second television ad that explains how lupus can start with seemingly minor problems such as fatigue, fever and joint pain but can lead to more serious complications, even death.
In the ad, Garner says: "Lupus has scarred my youngest daughter's life. Protect yourself. Get the facts. Get into the Loop."
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disorder that causes the body's immune system to attack its own healthy tissues and organs. Affecting about 1.5 million Americans, lupus strikes most between the ages of 15 and 44. Women account for 90 percent of lupus patients.
A recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine found lupus to be directly responsible for plaque build-up in arteries that can lead to heart attack and stroke, and about 50 percent of lupus patients develop related kidney disease that can potentially result in kidney failure, requiring dialysis or kidney transplant.
The "Get into the Loop" campaign is a project of the Lupus Research Institute, the National Kidney Foundation and WomenHeart: the National Coalition for Women With Heart Disease.
More information
The Arthritis Foundation has more about lupus.
