Drug-induced lupus is usually less severe than SLE and will disappear after the patient stops taking the drug. Two drugs that are most commonly connected with drug-induced lupus are hydralazine and procainamide. Hydralazine is .
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a medication that is often used to treat high blood pressure and hypertension. Procainamide is used to treat irregular heart rhythms. Minocycline, a drug taken for acne, is another widely used drug that can cause drug-induced lupus symptoms. Other drugs that can possibly cause lupus include: Isoniazid, Quinidine Phenytoin, sulfa, and tetracycline. Not everyone that takes these medications will develop lupus. Studies show that only 4 percent of people that take these drugs will develop antibodies suggestive of lupus.
More people have lupus than people that have AIDS, cerebral palsy, sickle cell anemia, and multiple sclerosis combined. One out of every 185 Americans has it. The number of Americans diagnosed with lupus is estimated at approximately 500,000. Lupus is not a rare disease, yet the cause of lupus is still unknown. It is believed; however, that the environment and genetics play an important role in it. Sunlight, stress, drugs, and infectious agents such as viruses are just a few of the environmental factors that scientists are studying about today. Research suggests that genetics play an important role in the causes of lupus. Lupus is known to occur within families, but only 10 percent of lupus patients have close .
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relatives with lupus and only 5 percent of children with lupus parents develop the disease. Since these percentages are so low, no specific "lupus gene" has been found and we cannot yet conclude that lupus is caused by genetics. .
Lupus is sometimes referred to as the "disease with 1,000 faces" because of its many symptoms and the fact that they often mimic those of other illnesses, making it hard to diagnose. It is very rare that any two patients have the exact same symptoms.