What can be done about cognitive dysfunction and “lupus fogs?
” Reassurance from loved ones helps a lot. So can behavioral counseling, physical or speech therapy, biofeedback, techniques for relaxing the body and mind, and concentration strategies. A lupus diary can be useful to track when fogs happen and what works for dealing with them. Medicines may lessen the fatigue or depression that makes thinking hard. Doctors are learning a lot about how lupus antibodies hurt brain cells and are testing medicines for dementia that might some day help people with lupus. Do other brain problems happen in people with lupus? Blood flow to the brain feeds brain cells with nutrients (food) and oxygen. Strokes occur when this blood flow is interrupted and brain cells die from the lack of oxygen, causing symptoms such as tingling sensations and problems with vision, speech, and movement (including paralysis). People with lupus have a higher risk for stroke, especially the third or so who have “antiphospholipid antibodies” that make blood “sticky” and more likely
