We are organising a program for The October Lupus Awareness Week.

We will be having information stands at both Sir Charles Gairdner and Royal Perth Hospitals.

Sir Charles Gairdner's stand will be on the first week of October 4th to the 8th, and RPH on the second week 11th to the 15th. The times will be from 9am to 12 noon and from 12.30 to 4.oopm.

We need volunteers to hand out pamphlets, collect donations and give information. Any members who can help would be appreciated.

October the 19th we will be giving a talk at The Kalgoolie-Boulder Population health Unit from 7 to 9.30pm. If you would like to attend contact Ruth West on (08) 9080 8200 or email Ruth.West@health.wa.gov.au.

We also hope to have an article in the first week of October in The West Australian Newspaper's Wednesday Health Insert.

Website

We have lodged our application with Lotterywest for our new exciting wesite. We have been told it can take up to three months for the application to be processed. So now we wait.

Research - Unlocking the Genetic Mysteries of Lupus

Australian lupus sufferers are being sought to help a Perth scientist's quest to unravel the mystery causes of the chronic and potentially fatal autoimmune disease. Dr Daniela Ulgiati, from the Western Australian Institute of Medical Research and UWA's School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences, is teaming up with US researchers in Colorado and Los Angeles in a bid to pinpoint the genetic causes of lupus. The two-year project, which has been funded with a grant from the New York-based Alliance for Lupus Research, could lead to better treatments for the more than 20,000 Australians affected by the disease.
While its understood that lupus is caused by the body's immune system attacking healthy tissue, what triggers that reaction remains unknown. "As well as an environmental component, we know that there is a very strong genetic component to lupus, with several genes already found likely to be linked to the disease" said Dr Ulgiati. "Recently it's been discovered that another gene called CR2, may play a role in the development of lupus and it's that gene that our new project will be directly investigating."
Lupus causes inflammation in the body that can cause pain, as well as damage the function and structure of organs including the kidney, heart, brain and lungs. "CR2 is part of a very important pathway within the human immune system that helps our bodies generate an efficient response to protect us from bacteria, viruses and other foreign materials" said Dr Ulgiati. "Sometimes there's a disruption to that process and the body starts to attack its own tissues and cells, leading to lupus development - what we're investigating is if abnormal changes in the function or expression of CR2 might be linked to that disruption. The big hope for the project of course is that if the gene is found to be a cause of lupus, it could be possible to create new drugs and therapies that target that gene."

The Lupus Group of WA depends on your good will and generosity. Please remember that all donations of $2 and over are tax deductible.

October Lupus Awareness Month

We are looking for volunteers to help on a stand to give information on lupus and hand out pamphlets etc, on the first week of October from Monday the 4th to Friday the 8th from 9am to midday and from midday to 4pm. The second week will be at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital from Monday the 11th to Friday the 15th.

We are looking for two people per session either morning or afternoon or all day if posible.

Contact the office and leave a message with on your phone number if you are able to help on 92243144 or email at admin@lupuswa.com.au and we will contact you. Thank You