WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by the Lupus Foundation of America:
Background:
The December 15, 2005 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine includes an article on the use of oral contraceptives in women with lupus. The findings represent a change in attitude toward the prohibition of prescribing oral contraceptives in patients with lupus. The results of this study are welcome news for young women with lupus. Sandra C. Raymond, President and CEO of the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc., the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for lupus, issued the following statement in response to the study:
Statement from Sandra C. Raymond, President & CEO:
A study published in the December 15, 2005 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that women with inactive or stable lupus can use oral contraceptives containing estrogen without triggering significant additional disease activity. The study concludes that women with lupus who are at low risk of thrombosis can consider using oral contraceptives without causing additional disease flares.
The findings are important because women represent 90 percent of the estimated 1.5 million cases of lupus in the United States. The results are welcome news because lupus develops most often during the childbearing years and women with lupus can benefit from the use of oral contraceptives. Previously, they often were advised not to use oral contraceptives because administering estrogen in mouse models of lupus sometimes worsened the disease.
Lupus strikes women nine times more often than men. Because lupus pregnancies are associated with higher risk, oral contraceptives offer the advantage of a planned pregnancy timed for periods of remission, improving the chances for a better outcome. Also, a reliable form of birth control is important for women with lupus who are being treated with immunosuppressive agents that may harm the fetus.
This study provides important information to women with lupus and their physicians when making informed decisions about the appropriateness and safety of oral contraceptives. It is hoped that these kinds of studies will help to build a better quality of life for the 1.5 million Americans with the disease.
For additional information about the study and lupus, visit the Lupus Foundation of America website at http://www.lupus.org.
Lupus Foundation of America
CONTACT: Duane Peters of the Lupus Foundation of America, +1-202-349-1145,peters@lupus.org
Web site: http://www.lupus.org/
