ID :
183716
Mon, 05/23/2011 - 05:38
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/183716
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SLE DISEASE AFFECTING WOMEN TEN TIMES MORE THAN MEN
PETALING JAYA (Bernama) - Deputy Health Minister Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said Sunday the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), a chronic auto-immune disorder, was affecting women ten times more than men.
She said that despite its enormous public health implications, the disease remained a dangerously under-recognised and under-appreciated women's health issue.
"Though lupus can develop at any age, the onset of the disease usually occurs between the ages of 15 and 45," she said at the SLE Malaysia Association's "Walk-a-Payung (Umbrellea)" Walkathon, here.
SLE is a chronic condition where abnormal changes take place in a patient's immune system during which antibodies produced by the system attack the patient instead, she said.
Among the organs and body tissues that could be attacked and damaged by the antibodies are the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints and nervous system.
The earlier a diagnosis was done, the better the chances of the patient's survival, she said, adding that it potentially became very serious if it was not treated earlier.
She said that despite its enormous public health implications, the disease remained a dangerously under-recognised and under-appreciated women's health issue.
"Though lupus can develop at any age, the onset of the disease usually occurs between the ages of 15 and 45," she said at the SLE Malaysia Association's "Walk-a-Payung (Umbrellea)" Walkathon, here.
SLE is a chronic condition where abnormal changes take place in a patient's immune system during which antibodies produced by the system attack the patient instead, she said.
Among the organs and body tissues that could be attacked and damaged by the antibodies are the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints and nervous system.
The earlier a diagnosis was done, the better the chances of the patient's survival, she said, adding that it potentially became very serious if it was not treated earlier.
