Lupus can be defined as a severe inflammatory disease that affects virtually any region of the body. Lupus is also considered to be an autoimmune disease, involving inappropriate functioning of the immune system. Due to this fact, the disease can eventually lead to a wide variety of disorders, producing an extensive range of symptoms.

The healthy human body normally produces antibodies that protect the organism from infections, constantly fighting against bacteria, viruses and antigens, foreign bodies that are responsible for causing all kinds of diseases. However, lupus generates serious impairments at the level of the immune system, causing it to turn against normal, healthy body cells instead of fighting against infectious agents. In the case of patients with lupus, the immune system becomes confused, being unable to make the difference between healthy body cells and antigens, thus attacking the body cells at random. When antigens enter the body and cause infections at various levels of the organism, the compromised immune system produces antibodies that accumulate and build up at the site of the infection, destroying healthy cells and tissues instead of the intruding infectious agents. As a result, the malfunctioning antibodies generate local inflammation, and can even cause serious deterioration of the body tissues.

Although medical science has recently unveiled the way lupus affects the human body, the actual causes of the disease remain unknown. In the absence of clear medical evidence, doctors can only theorize upon the factors causative of lupus. In present, it is suspected that both genetic and environmental factors may be responsible for causing the disease, although the exact risk factors of the disease are still a mystery. Medical scientists have revealed the fact that lupus aggravates on the premises of infections, physical and emotional stress, hormonal dysfunctions and even inappropriate use of antibiotics. However, neither of these risk factors alone can be linked with the occurrence of lupus. Thus, it is believed that lupus occurs due to a cumulus of factors that work together in triggering and facilitating the evolution of the disease.

Elaborate medical research have identified the fact that lupus has a pronounced hereditary character, suggesting a strong implication of genetic factors in causing this type of autoimmune disease. Although the specific causative gene is still unknown to medical science, the fact that lupus can be transmitted from a generation to another can't be contested. Another interesting feature of lupus is that it predominantly affects the female gender. Despite the fact that it can also affect men, lupus is more often seen in women. Furthermore, lupus is most likely to occur in African American Indian and Asian women, fact that supports the theory regarding the genetic transmissibility of the disease.

Despite the ongoing efforts invested by medical scientists in the process of identifying the exact causes and risk factors of lupus, the disease is still shrouded in mystery. However, doctors are optimistic, claiming that they are very close to revealing the specific causative genetic factors which are nowadays considered to be the main triggers of lupus. Once medical science reveals the way lupus occurs and progresses, doctors will be able to come up with the specific treatment and thus bring hope among the thousands of lupus sufferers.