Monday, March 16, 2009

The History of Lupus

Lupus is a disease that has been around for centuries. One of the earliest times that it appeared is the 13th century.

13th Century:


This is when the "butterfly rashes" first were mentioned. They appear on a person's face above his or her cheeks. The term Lupus is a Latin word for wolf. A physician by the name of Rogerius used the term to describe an infected patch of skin on the face that resemble the bites and scratches made y a wolf's attack.

19th Century:


Thomas Bateman, Cazenaze, and Moriz Kaposi described the various features of Lupus.

1833, 1846, 1856, 1872, and 1894:


In 1833 Cazenave decribes discoid lesions for the first time. Von Hebra describes the butterfly rash in 1846. In 1856 the first illustrations of Lupus erythematosus was published by Von Hebra in his Atlas of Skin Disease. The systemic nature of the disease was first described by Kaposi. He also states that there are two types of Lupus: the discoid form and the disseminated form. Payne first discusses quinine in treating lupus.

1904, 1908, 1939, and 1948:


Osler in Baltimore and Jadassohn in Vinnea work established disseminated or systemic forms of lupus in 1904. In 1908 "Lupic pneumonia" was described by Alfred Kraus and Carl Bohac. They also recongnized lung involvement. Leukopenia and hypersensitivity to sunlight are first described in cases of lupus erythematosus in 1939. In 1948 Phillip Hench discovers cortisone, which provids the greatest therapy for lupus to date. The LE cell was also discovered by hargraves and colleagues , resulting in the application of immunology to the study of Lupus. This led to the development of a series of tests for antibodies, which allowed doctors and researchers to identify and define the disease in a more rigorous way. These are the ‘fluorescent tests’, which detect the antibodies that attack the nucleus of cells.


1 comment:

  1. Tashauna,

    Excellent breakdown of the history of lupus. Your post is thorough and taught me a lot. It would, however, be helpful if you could tell us what credible sources you used for your information. I know there are two sources at the end of the article, but I don't know what source goes with what piece of information.

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