Systemic Lupus Erythematosus 5e

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), commonly called lupus, is a chronic autoimmune disease which can involve every organ system of the human body. In lupus, the body's immune system, which normally functions to protect against foreign invaders, becomes hyperactive, forming antibodies that attack normal tissues and organs, including the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, and blood. Lupus is characterized by periods of illness, called flares, and periods of wellness, or remission. Lupus is the prototypic autoimmune disease and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus examines the entire field of autoimmunity by looking at lupus. There is no other book in the field which carefully covers scientific research, clinical findings, organ system involvement and treatment between its two covers. The fifth edition continues to serve as a vital translational reference for specialists in the diagnosis and management of patients with SLE, and as a key a tool for the measurement of clinical activity for pharmaceutical development and basic research of the disease and a reference work for hospital libraries. It is highly illustrated and in full color throughout. Basic science section is expanded, allowing the reader to focus on the newest techniques in molecular medicine and its effects on disease expression and treatment. Clinical aspects and new drugs are covered in great detail providing a useful reference to professionals interested in lupus. "The first edition was published in 1987, and revisions every five or six years have kept this reference up to date. An earlier edition was cited in Brandon-Hill, but, surprisingly, this work is absent from the Medical Library Association's Master Guide... Like its predecessors, this reference aims for comprehensiveness, and this fifth edition incorporates an abundance of new terms and concepts, key opinions from researchers and clinicians, and, for the first time, '...ways to approach, examine and quantify clinical facts from lupus patients.' Chapters are organized in sections on the basis of disease pathogenesis (e.g. genetics, cellular pathogenesis, humoral pathogenesis, environmental aspects, mechanisms of tissue injury); clinical aspects; anti-phospholipid syndrome; and treatment. Editor Robert G. Lahita (New Jersey Medical School, and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center) is joined for this edition by three associate editors: George Tsokos (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center); Jill P. Buyon (NYU Medical Center); and Takao Koike (Hokkaido U. School of Medicine, Japan)."--SciTech Book News