Lupus: Everything You Need to Know (Answers to Your Most Common Questions About Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments)

One of America's leading medical authorities teams up with one of America's leading psychological authorities to write this informative book on lupus. In six chapters written in Q&A format based on actual questions asked by patients, the authors describe diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, medication, and the overall history and impact of the disease.

Physician Lahita and psychologist Phillips have had considerable experience in diagnosing and treating lupus and helping patients and their family members cope. Their book, aimed primarily at patients, clearly discusses the different types of the disease. Because lupus can be so confusing, Lahita and Phillips also discuss medical disorders similar to it. They subsequently turn to the immune system, which is the body system most likely to be involved in lupus, to tests and diagnosis, and to descriptions of symptoms and complications, usefully conveyed in question-and-answer format. Not much is yet known about the causes of lupus; still, Lahita and Phillips offer some suggestions. Many triggers can initiate flare-ups of the disease, but there are ways to lessen some of these outbreaks' effects. The thorough and practical volume ends with a brief list of further reading that surprisingly does not include Suzy Szasz's excellent Living with It (1991). William Beatty

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a mysterious, hard-to-diagnose disease that affects an estimated two million people in the United States alone. The unpredictable behavior and uncertain course of lupus raise many questions for sufferers of this sometimes devastating disease. Lahita (medicine, Columbia Univ., and chief of rheumatology, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Ctr., New York) has authored several textbooks on lupus and immune diseases. His coauthor is the director of the "Cope" program for the Long Island/Queens chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America and wrote Coping with Lupus (Avery, 1990). Lahita and Phillips are more than qualified to provide information about lupus, and their writing is clear and their coverage comprehensive. Their question-and-answer format will not be to everyone's taste; however, in combination with the index, it makes finding answers to particular questions quick and easy. Recommended for all patient-education collections.?Stacey Hathaway, Wright State Univ. Libs., Dayton, Ohio
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