By Steven Reinberg
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

SUNDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- A drug used to treat multiple myeloma, a cancer of the white blood cells, may also be a treatment for the chronic autoimmune disease lupus, German researchers report.

The drug, Velcade (bortezomib), which is a proteasome inhibitor, worked against the disease and prolonged survival in mice with lupus. The finding could one day offer treatment options for other antibody-associated diseases, too, the researchers said.

With lupus, you have good days, and not-so-good days. The good days are precious, times when you feel energetic and pain free. The not-so-good days are when you just don't feel like moving, or can't. While my current relapse isn't as overwhelming as past stretches have been, I'm just not as energized as I should be. My eyes are suffering. It's hard to breathe while on even an easy run. Some days, lately more of them, I simply cannot move off the sofa.

I have Mixed Connective Tissue Disease made up of Lupus/Myositis/Arthritis/Raynaud’s Phenomena. The doctors think I have had it since at least 3 months of age, but I was officially diagnosed in 2006 at the age of 21 after several hospital stays lasting months and losing muscle function in the trunk of my body (just one of the many problems that the flare was throwing at me). I am now on a giant list of meds, but am able to walk, eat and spend time with friends and family.

Have you had success in treating your Lupus? Are you using conventional or alternative methods - or a combination? Tell us how you work alongside your condition and what is working best for you...

When I tell someone I have lupus, a puzzled look comes across her face. People have heard about it, but don't really know what it is. Sometimes, someone will ask, "it's an autoimmune disease, isn't it?" Or, "is it a blood disorder?"

When I tell someone I have lupus, a puzzled look comes across her face. People have heard about it, but don't really know what it is. Sometimes, someone will ask, "it's an autoimmune disease, isn't it?" Or, "is it a blood disorder?"

Share your experiences about lupus and help other women.

According to the Lupus Research Institute (LRI), there is a connection between lupus and heart disease that young women need to be alerted to. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects more than one million American women and causes the body to make antibodies against itself, can be very serious and life-threatening - emphasis on "can." I have lupus, but no history of heart disease or indication thereof, so far. Knock on my wooden head!