Today is World Lupus Day

10 May 2013 1min read

Lupus (or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) to give it its correct name) affects at least five million people worldwide, and this figure would probably be higher if the condition wasn’t so notoriously difficult to diagnose. Lupus is a disease in which the immune system becomes too active. It can be a completely debilitating disease, with most common symptoms being; tiredness, skin rashes, allergies, joint and muscle pains, and, if the disease spreads, kidney, lungs and other organ disease.

World Lupus Day is the perfect time for OGT (Oxford Gene Technologies) to announce a new novel biomarker panel which is more sensitive and specific than existing laboratory tests, and should result in a significant reduction in the current average 7.5 years that it takes to diagnose the conditions.

This focus on earlier diagnosis also coincides with Frost and Sullivan’s market report, 8th May 2013, confirming the trend we are seeing in a shift from investment in acute care to a more proactive approach and year on year increases in investment in diagnostics.

Early intervention and management has to be the way to go!