Lupus Hard to Diagnose

Systemic lupus erythematosus, also known as lupus, is a difficult disease to diagnose because each patient displays a range of symptoms and no single test determines the condition.

Common symptoms include extreme fatigue, painful or swollen joints, unexplained fever, skin rashes and kidney problems. Women--particularly black women--are much more likely than men to develop lupus, and the disease appears to run in families.

Detailed information on lupus is available in the National Institute of Health’s brochure “Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.”

For a copy, write the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Information Clearinghouse, NIAMS / National Institutes of Health, 1 AMS Circle, Bethesda, MD 20892-3675, or visit NIH’s Web site, www.nih.gov/niams/healthinfo/slehandout/