Mr Dunne said:
"I have met constituents who suffer from this debilitating condition. Lupus remains a dangerously under-recognized and under-appreciated women's health issue. This day should help raise its profile to move up the health agenda."
Every day, more than 5 million people worldwide struggle with the often severe health consequences of lupus, a potentially fatal autoimmune disease capable of damaging virtually any part of the body, including the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain.
Nine out of ten people with lupus are women. Eighty percent of new lupus cases are diagnosed among women ages 15 to 44, striking at the peak of their reproductive and career potential. A merciless predator, lupus permanently disables many young women.
In its most serious form, lupus can cause disfiguring rashes and scarring, multiple miscarriages, kidney, heart and lung failure, impaired neurological function, strokes, heart attacks and death.
Lupus also complicates and limits the treatment of cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Many people with lupus are unable to maintain employment or attend school because of extended lupus-related absences and hospitalizations. A majority of those affected must live with debilitating pain and profound fatigue which greatly affects their quality of life.
