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Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Lupus is an inflammatory disease that occurs when the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is the most common type of Lupus, and is among the most heritable of the common autoimmune diseases.

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Lupus means wolf in Latin.


Use of the term Lupus dates back at least to the Middle Ages, or to about the 10th century in European history.

Although a prevalent medical problem worldwide, Lupus is one of the world´s least recognized major diseases

Lupus is not a well-known disease

Although Lupus is a prevalent medical problem, many people do not know much about Lupus. The name of the disease may be one reason for the confusion about this complex disease. A short review of the medical history of Lupus is required to explain the disease´s unusual name, which means wolf in Latin.

The history of Lupus

The first report of the disease may possibly be traced to about 400 BC in Hippocrates´s descriptions of a condition involving red ulcerating skin lesions. However, the use of the term Lupus dates back at least to the Middle Ages, or to about the 10th century in European history according to medical historians.

There are two main theories as to why the term Lupus was chosen for the disease in these early writings:

  • The most common theory is that the skin rash, like a wolf, seemed to eat away the skin and destroy it. The rash, therefore, was said to resemble skin which had actually been bitten by a wolf.
  • In the superstitious Middle Ages, the untreated skin lesions and hence often frightening appearance of some Lupus sufferers was said to make people´s faces resemble the color markings in the face of a wolf, and brought the myth of werewolves to people´s minds.

In 1875, Kaposi, a Hungarian physician and professor of medicine at the University of Vienna, recognized that Lupus was not only a skin disease, but a systemic one that could also produce severe symptoms in other body systems. He is acknowledged to be the first to describe Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and also the first to describe the butterfly rash on a Lupus sufferer’s face.

In a series of papers, Sir William Osler, known as the father of modern medicine, expanded the definition of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus when he described symptoms associated with the disease in the heart, lung, joints, brain, kidneys and stomach. He also recognized that some cases of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus occur without skin involvement.

For more on the history of Lupus:

  • The History of Lupus by Ravi K. Mallavarapu, MD, Edwin W. Grimsley, MD, FACP, Department of Internal Medicine, Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia.
  • The History of Lupus from The Lupus Foundation

Lupus research updates

Over the past 20 to 25 years, improved diagnostic techniques and treatment methods have enabled doctors and patients to diagnose Lupus earlier, monitor it more carefully, and in some cases provide treatments to protect precious organs from permanent damage. Ongoing research on Lupus and clinical trials continue to evaluate new treatments with the hope that more promising treatment options and drugs will be identified and made more widely available.

For more information on Lupus research and clinical trials, visit the following web-sites:

Did Beethoven have Lupus?

The great composer, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), famously struggled with loss of hearing from the young age of 28 and had become completely deaf when only 44 years old. This part of his medical history is widely known. Less known however, is that Beethoven also struggled with a series of illnesses, starting in his early 20s with severe stomach pains that he unfortunately chose to treat with alcohol.

A review of letters and writings depict the illnesses of Beethoven´s adult years as a wide collection of various symptoms including rheumatic joint pains, eye-problems, gastro-intestinal and liver problems, in addition to temper flares and psychological difficulties. Some scientists believe that these diverse symptoms that seemingly came and went, are consistent with the flares of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Additionally, Beethoven´s life-mask of 1812 reveals an elongated atrophic scar that some have found suggestive of Lupus. Painted portraits of Beethoven also depict flushing of the cheekbones and nose, suggestive of the “butterfly rash” of Lupus.

Other scientists have suggested that Lupus is an unlikely explanation of Beethoven´s illnesses, firstly because Lupus is so much rarer in men than women, and secondly, because Lupus symptoms usually start at an earlier age than Beethoven´s documented symptoms. Additionally, that the facial scarring, rather than being the butterfly rash of Lupus, could have been facial scarring due to smallpox, which Beethoven contracted in his youth.

For a review on the medical biography of Beethoven see e.g. Ludwig van Beethoven: a medical biography, by Kubba and Young, in the 1996 Lancet.

More information

For more information on Lupus, talk to your doctor and visit the following websites:

This content was last reviewed on February 09, 2010.


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