However, new research may have discovered the trigger for the condition, as well as other autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
Lupus affects 50,000 people in the UK, mostly between the ages of 15 and 50.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation has identified certain cells that may explain why women are affected significantly more than men.
Indeed, 80 per cent of autoimmune patients are women.
Some, like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, affect women two to 10 times as often as men.
Autoimmune diseases happen when the immune system attacks and destroys the organs and tissue of its own host.
At present, there is no cure.
However, the new research may lead to new treatment to prevent the disease in humans.
Kira Rubtsova, an instructor in biomedical science at National Jewish Health, said: “Our findings confirm that Age-associated B Cells (ABCs) drive autoimmune disease.
“We demonstrated that the transcription factor T-bet inside B cells causes ABCs to develop.
“When we deleted T-bet inside B cells, mice prone to develop autoimmune disease remained healthy.
“We believe the same process occurs in humans with autoimmune disease, more often in elderly women.”
Previous research discovered that B cells are an important factor in autoimmune disease.
The research team eliminated the ability of autoimmune-prone mice to express T-bet inside their B cells, and as a result the mice involved remained healthy.
Dr Rubtsova said: “Our findings for the first time show that ABCs are not only associated with autoimmune disease, but actually drive it.”
Future research will look at the effect of ABCs on sarcoidosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis and chronic beryllium disease.
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