On Oct. 16, 2003, scientists from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) reported that in patients suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus (commonly known as lupus), autoantibodies – proteins that the body mistakenly unleashes against its own tissue – are typically present years before patients are diagnosed with the disease.

In lupus and other autoimmune diseases, the immune system loses its ability to differentiate between foreign substances and its own cells and tissues, causing the body to attack itself. Lupus can affect any part of the body – most commonly the skin, joints, blood and kidneys – and can be life-threatening. The disease primarily strikes women and has no known cure. The study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.