Vague symptoms cause people with lupus erythematosus to miss the golden time for treatment

At the scientific conference “New era in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus” recently organized by the Vietnam Rheumatology Association and AstraZeneca Vietnam, experts pointed out the worrying situation in screening for this autoimmune disease. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Hung, Director of the Musculoskeletal Center of Bach Mai Hospital, said that patients often go through long journeys from internal medicine and dermatology clinics to cardiovascular, neurological, and respiratory clinics. Less than 10% of cases are detected early because the clinical manifestations are too vague.

This chronic disease attacks women 9 times more often than men, focusing mainly on the reproductive and working age group from 15 to 45. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh, Director of Vinmec Times City Clinical Immunology and Allergy Center, emphasized the multi-organ outbreak characteristics that take the medical community many years to diagnose. Vietnamese patients face even more barriers when the health system lacks specialized experts, inter-specialty coordination processes are not synchronized, and access to specialized drugs is limited. When doctors found the exact cause, many patients entered the full-blown stage with a series of organ damage that was difficult to recover from.

Current traditional regimens mainly use corticosteroids and immunosuppressants. This method has the potential to increase toxicity and destroy organs if the patient uses it for a long time, seriously reducing the quality of life. To solve this situation, the global medical community is shifting to a strategy of early screening and targeted treatment, helping patients control symptoms right from the onset stage.

International experts evaluate that biological therapy creates a major turning point, completely overcoming the disadvantages of the old regimen. Professor Yoshiya Tanaka from the Japan University of Occupational and Environmental Medicine explains how the mechanism of blocking Interferon type I signaling helps doctors effectively control disease activity and reduce outbreaks in Asian patients.

Agreeing with this point of view, Professor Richard Furie from Northwell Health (USA) cited pivotal clinical trials of biological therapy showing that patients clearly reduce their dependence on corticosteroids, protect organs and gradually return to normal daily activities.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health in Vietnam, of about 100,000 people, there are 50 people with lupus erythematosus, women account for 90% of cases. Lupus erythematosus is related to the influence of the hormone estrogen – a hormone that increases immune response, contributing to increased risk of disease and making the disease more severe in some cases. In the early stages, the disease is difficult to identify and can easily be confused with other diseases, not to mention that each person has different signs. Symptoms appear periodically or subside and disappear, requiring no treatment. The disease can also become severe, manifesting as acute or chronic inflammation of tissues, causing dangerous complications that require intensive and prolonged treatment.