New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF, WE-Sag Harbor) today announced that starting September 14, a Lupus support group will meet the second Wednesday of every month in the Wellness Classroom- Room 3121 at Southampton Hospital located at 240 Meeting House Lane in Southampton.

The support group is being offered through a partnership between Southampton Hospital and the Lupus Alliance of Long Island/Queens in an effort to provide people with lupus and their families an opportunity to share their experiences with those who can understand them. The group will offer support for those who are newly diagnosed and those who have been living with Lupus for many years.

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease in which a triggering agent causes the immune system to attack the patient’s own tissue and can affect virtually any organ system of the body; including the skin, joints, kidney, brain, heart, lungs, blood and blood vessels. It is more common than AIDS, sickle-cell anemia, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and cystic fibrosis and there is no known cause or cure. Lupus is a leading cause of kidney disease, stroke and premature cardiovascular disease in young women and is unpredictable, highly individualized, debilitating and potentially fatal. Each year thousands of people are newly diagnosed with Lupus, the great majority of whom are young people in the prime of their lives, and 90% of whom are women.

For more information or to register, please call 516.783.3370 or visit the Lupus Alliance web site.