Less than two months after singer Mariah Carey tweeted that husband Nick Cannon had “mild kidney failure,” Cannon told People magazine he is dealing with an autoimmune disorder similar to lupus. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect any part of the body, including organs such as the kidneys. The condition occurs when the immune system, which normally fights off viruses and bacteria, treats the body’s healthy tissue as a foreign invader. This can result in inflammation, pain or other damage to healthy tissue. Lupus symptoms can wax and wane over time, and can range from mild to life-threatening. With good medical care, most people diagnosed with lupus can live long, relatively healthy lives.

— Markian Hawryluk, The Bulletin

Source: Lupus Foundation of America