Lupus Support Programme

The trust has the vision of being empathetic to the community by service and join many hands together in serving the humanity. Under this vision, our mission is to support non-affordable patients with proper diagnosis and free or subsidized treatment for the management of their immunological and rheumatological diseases such as Arthritis, SLE, etc.

Under this broad understanding, the trust is envisaging the creation of support funds for different specific activities of the ongoing trust efforts. One such support activity is the creation of a fund and carrying forward concentrated activity in the area of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Lupus) disease.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease, causing inflammation and tissue damage in the affected organs, including the joints, skin, brain, lungs, kidneys and blood vessels. It can range from mild to life-threatening with only medical interventions and lifestyle changes available to control disease, as there is no definitive cure.

SLE management lasts for a lifetime and is often expensive. In recent decades, SLE treatment has moved from the use of Hydroxychloroquine, Systemic Glucocorticoids and conventional Immuno-suppressive drugs to next generation monoclonal antibody such as Rituximab and Belimumab that are tagged with high costs ranging from Rs. 50,000 to several lakhs. The insurance and third-party policies do not cover the costs for SLE treatment leaving the patients in a lurch, not only making it difficult to cope up with the disease but also leaving them in a financial turmoil.

We, at IARET, would like to help overcome the affordability issue and make healthcare for SLE more accessible. We envisage initiating a Lupus Support Fund specifically earmarked to serve the non-affordable with SLE. We plan to expand this initiative for the patients from the In-house CRICR and general medical camps conducted by the trusts to patients identified across Bengaluru, Karnataka State, and elsewhere.

In India, SLE prevalence has been reported to be 3.2 per 100,000 populations.

SLE is characterized by a variety of symptoms that include fatigue, skin rashes, fever, pain and swelling in the joints and more severe symptoms related to lung, heart, and kidney involvement, seizures, psychosis, and immunological abnormalities.

While early diagnosis and effective treatment can help reduce the damaging effects of SLE and improve the chance to have better function and quality of life, the diagnosis itself is very challenging. The major issue is the high cost involved in the diagnosis and the control of the disease with medical management over a semi-long to long period.

The IARET has a base at ChanRe Rheumatology & Immunology Center & Research. The counsellor from the trust identifies non-affordable patients visiting the clinic for various immunological and rheumatological diseases. He counsels them, helps them by way of recommending free consultation, free / subsidized investigation through the trust on a standardized evaluation plan. The trust also extends medical benefit by way of drug distribution through the trust drug bank.