A Bahraini teenager is campaigning for greater awareness of a little-known but painful disease that causes the body to attack itself, a report said.

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs when a patient's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

Inflammation caused by the disease can affect many different body systems, including the joints, skin, kidneys, blood, brain, heart and lungs.

Multi-million album selling British soul and RnB singer-songwriter Seal, best known for his Grammy Award-winning 1996 hit Kiss from a Rose, has scars on his face as a result of a type of lupus called discoid lupus erythematosus, which specifically affects the skin above the neck.

Although quite rare '“ with an incidence proportion of approximately one per 1,500 of the population '“ the disease can be disfiguring, extremely painful and difficult to treat.

After learning that someone very close to her was suffering from the disease, 17-year-old Ibn Khuldoon National School student Layal Al Fardan decided that more people needed to be made aware of it.

'I wish to spread word about this disease and explain to people the suffering of people who have it,' she said.

'The campaign is not all about raising awareness, but also to raise donations for lupus research.

'All proceeds will be given to The Alliance for Lupus Research, which is an international organisation dedicated to research on its causes and treatments.'

To kick start the campaign, a walkathon was held in Riffa Views last week and Layal is also planning art exhibitions, bake sales and other fundraising events.

The campaign's medical adviser, Health Ministry family consultant Wedad Shabani, told the GDN that there was an acute lack of public knowledge about lupus.

'The incidence of the disease is one in every 1,500 of the population and women are more prone to suffering from lupus than men, with a ratio of ten to one,' she said.

'This campaign aims to raise the awareness among the citizens of Bahrain about lupus, as there is a shortage of public knowledge and awareness.'

By encouraging more people to learn about the disease and increasingly levels of general awareness, it will make future diagnosis and treatment easier, Shabani said. – TradeArabia News Service