What Is Lupus?

The most common type of lupus is called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It can affect multiple organ systems and cause widespread inflammation. When people say “lupus,” they often mean SLE. Other types of lupus, such as cutaneous, drug-induced, or neonatal lupus, primarily affect specific organs or systems rather than the whole body.

Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE)

CLE causes rashes or lesions on the skin. There are multiple subtypes of CLE, many of which can appear or worsen with sun exposure.

Drug-induced lupus (DIL)

DIL is a temporary autoimmune condition triggered by certain medications taken for months or years. It causes lupus-like symptoms such as joint pain, fatigue, muscle aches, rash, and sometimes fever. Unlike SLE, DIL rarely involves the kidneys or central nervous system. Once the medication is stopped, symptoms usually improve, though it could take several weeks or months for them to fully resolve.

Neonatal lupus syndrome (NLS)

NLS occurs when certain lupus-related autoantibodies cross the placenta from the mother to the infant. These autoantibodies can cause temporary skin, liver and blood abnormalities, which typically resolve within six months. The most serious complication — congenital heart block — may be permanent and require a pacemaker.

While anyone can get lupus, the disease most often affects women. In fact, women make up about 9 out of 10 adults with the disease. Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander people are disproportionately affected by lupus.

According to the most recent research, genes play an important role and may be a risk factor, but genes alone do not determine who gets lupus. It’s likely that many factors trigger the disease.

The cause of lupus remains unknown, but there is solid evidence that genetics, epigenetics (changes that affect the way genes function), environmental factors, viruses, infections, and hormones play a role. Further study of these variables is expected to improve our understanding of lupus causes, which should lead to improved diagnosis, prognosis, prevention and treatment.

The most serious health risks are cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and stroke. Specifically, people with lupus are at an increased risk for atherosclerosis (the deposition of fats, cholesterol, and other substances along the lining of the arterial wall). In some people, inflammation can occur in the heart muscle (myocarditis) or the membrane that surrounds it (pericarditis). Lupus can also cause inflammation of the heart valves, which can result in valve damage and heart murmurs.

When the disease affects the kidneys, it’s called lupus nephritis, and patients generally require intensive drug treatment to prevent permanent damage. Lupus can also affect the brain and/or spinal cord. This is called neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE). Because its symptoms can mimic those of other conditions, diagnosis is complex. Possible features include headaches, cognitive impairment (e.g., memory issues, slowed processing), mood disorders (e.g., depression or anxiety), movement disorders (e.g., tremors), vision problems, seizures, psychosis (e.g., confusion, hallucinations), strokes, or peripheral neuropathies (nerve pain, numbness, tingling).

People with SLE, the most common form of lupus, may experience — with varying severity — fatigue, pain or swelling in joints, skin rashes and fevers. Symptoms can come and go and vary widely from person to person.

Learn more about lupus symptoms

There is no single test to definitively diagnose lupus, and it could take months or even years to be sure. Typically, your doctor will conduct a complete medical history and physical exam, including blood tests. The doctor may also perform skin and kidney biopsies (extracting tissue samples that are then examined under a microscope) to make a diagnosis.

Learn more about a lupus diagnosis

You may need to see different kinds of doctors to treat the many symptoms of lupus. Once you’re diagnosed, your primary physician for lupus is usually a rheumatologist, who treats arthritis and other diseases that cause swelling in the joints. Depending on your specific diagnosis, the rheumatologist may then send you to a clinical immunologist for treating immune system disorders, a nephrologist (kidney disease), a hematologist (blood disorders), a dermatologist (skin diseases), a neurologist (nervous system), a cardiologist (heart and blood vessel problems) or an endocrinologist (glands and hormones).

A treatment plan may aim to:

• Prevent or treat flares
• Prevent or reduce organ and joint damage
• Reduce swelling and pain
• Support overactive immune responses to prevent further tissue damage

More about treatment options

While there is currently no cure for the disease, there is hope for people living with lupus. The complexity of the disease — its unpredictable course, diverse manifestations, and underlying immune system imbalance — makes a single, universal cure unlikely. However, research continues to advance in promising and powerful ways.

Personalized approaches based on individual genetics, disease activity, and treatment responses are redefining how lupus is diagnosed, monitored, and managed. Patients are increasingly seen through the lens of their unique clinical and molecular profiles — symptoms and biological traits that guide diagnosis and treatment — rather than a generalized framework.

The landscape is rapidly evolving with innovations like:

• Advanced biomarker discovery (identifying biological clues) and genetic profiling (decoding DNA patterns) that help doctors detect lupus earlier, predict how it may behave, and tailor treatments to each individual
• Predictive analytics, which uses data to forecast disease progression and guide treatment decisions
• Engineered cell therapies, including CAR T-cell approaches that reprogram immune cells to target disease-causing cells

These developments hold promise for earlier diagnoses, safer and more effective treatments, and — in the long term — potentially targeted therapies tailored to different lupus subtypes.

Increasingly, patient-centered care is at the heart of it all — ensuring therapies align not only with biology, but also with the lupus lived experience.

The Lupus Research Alliance continues to lead the funding of groundbreaking studies, supporting efforts to refine diagnostic tools, improve targeted treatments, and ultimately, find cures for lupus.

Lupus is one of the most challenging autoimmune diseases to understand and treat. It occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells and tissues, leading to inflammation and damage across multiple organs. As a chronic condition, lupus requires long-term care and careful management.

What makes lupus especially complex is its unpredictable nature — it affects each person differently, with symptoms that can be subtle, intermittent, or mimic other illnesses. This variability often delays diagnosis and complicates treatment decisions. That’s why lupus is sometimes called “the disease with 1,000 faces.” But there are many more faces — and minds — working towards cures. Researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates are pushing the boundaries of science to transform this complexity into clarity and hope.