Patricia Inacio, PhD, science writer —

Lower blood counts of platelets — tiny cell fragments involved in blood clotting — at the time that ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) is diagnosed may be a marker of poorer kidney function and a higher risk of kidney failure, according to a retrospective study from China. Findings suggest that “platelet…

Men with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) are three times more likely to develop cancer, most often that affecting the lungs and the head and neck, than age-matched men in the Turkish population, a study based on patient registry data found. Older age — age 60 or older — at AAV…

Undergoing plasma exchange or low-dose glucocorticoid therapy did not affect the risk of relapse in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), according to a post-hoc analysis of data from a Phase 3 clinical trial. Post-hoc analyses are those specified and performed after a trial is complete. Antibodies against the proteinase…

Two blood parameters — interleukin 8 (IL-8) and the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) — may help identify ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients with high disease activity and those at risk of poor prognosis, a single center study in China suggests. “IL-18 may be adopted as one of the important biological markers…

Most people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) experience acute or chronic kidney injury, according to a five-year national study in the U.S. More severe kidney damage is observed in people with the AAV disease type microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) than in those with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), and less severe symptoms are…

Long-term treatment with benralizumab — sold as Fasenra for a rare type of asthma — safely leads to clinical remission in up to two-thirds of people with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), a real-world study shows. “Across a [two]-year period of treatment, we have observed extremely positive outcomes with benralizumab…

Treatment with Nucala (mepolizumab) for three or more years is safe, and was effective at easing symptoms and reducing the risk of relapse in people with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), the most rare type of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a real-world study in Japan shows. Further, the need…

In people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), evaluating kidney function by a test known as the estimated glomerular filtration rate within six months after their diagnosis helps assess their risk of kidney failure, a study shows. The study, “Adding 6-month parameters for the prediction of kidney prognosis…

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) with kidney involvement is the most common cause of kidney disease among elderly people, but most older patients appear to benefit from appropriate therapy as well as younger AAV patients with kidney damage. That’s according to a study in Germany that found no significant differences in…

Lower-than-normal counts of lymphocytes, a type of immune cell, are linked to a higher risk of severe infection in older adults with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), the most common type of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), according to a new Japanese study. In fact, the study found that “56 severe infectious…