Lupus and Overlap Diseases

The connective tissue diseases are a family of closely related disorders. They include: rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus), polymyositis-dermatomyositis (PM-DM), systemic sclerosis (SSc or scleroderma), Sjogren's syndrome (SS) and various forms of vasculitis.

These diseases have a number of common features:

• They affect women much more frequently than men.
• They are "multisystem" diseases, capable of affecting the function of many organs.
• They "overlap" with one another, sharing certain clinical symptoms, signs, and laboratory abnormalities.
• Blood vessels are the most common target of injury in all of these diseases.
• The immune system is abnormal and accounts, at least in part, for the observed tissue damage.

Although lupus most often occurs alone, many people with lupus also have symptoms characteristic of one or more of the other connective tissue diseases. In this circumstance, a physician may use the term "overlap" to describe the illness. There are several well-recognized overlaps that may affect people with lupus.

Learn more with the resources below:
Lupus and overlap diseases
Lupus and Sjögren's syndrome
From Lupus Now magazine: Practical Tips for Living with Sjögren’s and Raynaud’s

Practical Tips for Living with Sjögren’s and Raynaud’s

Two overlapping conditions known to many with lupus are Sjögren’s syndrome and Raynaud’s disease, also known as Raynaud’s phenomenon.

Sjögren’s syndrome affects the body’s ability to produce moisture in the glands of the eyes, nose, and mouth. Raynaud’s disease causes narrowing of the blood vessels, which most commonly affects the fingers and toes. When blood can’t get to the surface of the skin, the affected areas turn white and blue.

Here are some practical dos and don’ts to living with these diseases.

Taken from the Spring 2010 issue of Lupus Now magazine