Stanford researchers link lupus to common virus in breakthrough' study

"Kathleen Ford of Solano County was a nurse for more than 20 years, until one day she squatted down to help a patient and, hobbled by terrible joint pain, couldn't stand up. Then in her 60s, Ford had been diagnosed with lupus years earlier. It's a mysterious autoimmune disease that drives inflammation as the body's own immune system fights tissue and organs instead of foreign intruders like viruses and bacteria."

"In a paper published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine, the Stanford researchers said they have connected the dots between lupus and the Epstein-Barr virus, a virus 95% of Americans carry. According to the study, that common virus infects certain white blood cells that are part of the immune system until, ultimately, more and more cells are recruited into a battle against the command centers of cells in one's own body."

"Symptoms are a rollercoaster, from hair loss to joint pain that afflicted Ford so badly hat she had to quit the job she loved. Strange rashes also broke out on her legs then quickly disappeared. About 1.5 million Americans have lupus and almost all 90% are women There is no cure. Treatments may relieve symptoms, but the troubling side effects can include osteoporosis and eye damage. More rarely, lupus can be fatal."

Kathleen Ford experienced severe joint pain, rashes, and hair loss from lupus that forced her to leave nursing. Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks tissues and organs, producing fluctuating symptoms and serious complications. About 1.5 million Americans have lupus, roughly 90% of whom are women; there is no cure, and treatments can cause side effects such as osteoporosis and eye damage, and rarely death. Stanford Medicine researchers reported a connection between lupus and the Epstein-Barr virus, describing how the virus infects specific white blood cells and progressively recruits more cells into autoimmune attack, a finding that could inform future cures.

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