Aisha I Abdullah PhD,  —

Being underweight at diagnosis, with a low body mass index (BMI), is associated with a significantly greater risk of severe infections in older adults with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), a recent study in Japan reports. Other significant predictors of severe infection included…

Nucala (mepolizumab) is effective and safe in combination with corticosteroids to treat eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), resulting in decreased disease activity and increased remission rates than standard treatment alone, a small study has found. Patients taking Nucala received…

In patients with systemic vasculitis like ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), glucocorticoid use and respiratory disease are linked with severe COVID-19 outcomes, a recent study reports. “Together with reports of other cohorts exposed to immunosuppressant medication, these data could inform future public health guidance for individuals…

The Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) has established alternative consensus treatment plans for children and adolescents with severe ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). These plans, which compare two therapies for induction and maintenance of remission in pediatric…

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) who receive mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) as a remission induction therapy have similar remission rates as those given cyclophosphamide (CYC), an analysis of eight published studies has found.  The study, “The Role of Mycophenolate…

The disease-causing autoantibodies are sometimes present long before the onset of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) symptoms, with distinct disease features depending on their antibody type, a recent study finds. Overall, the study presents “evidence of an initiation of the autoimmune process in…

Measuring liver scarring at diagnosis, using the FIB-5 liver fibrosis index, can help predict kidney failure in people with the two most common subtypes of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a study reports. Yet, this index was unable to predict mortality from any cause in these patients — who had either…

A woman was potentially reinfected with SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — while on immunosuppressive therapy for ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). This case suggests that immunosuppressed patients are at risk of viral reinfection or persistence, likely because their immune system…

In some cases, infections may trigger the development of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) with antibodies against the myeloperoxidase (MPO) protein, but the condition — known as AAV-MPO — typically regresses after the infection is treated, a systemic review finds. However, the use of immunosuppressive medications to treat…

A higher ratio of disease-inducing neutrophils to lymphocytes at diagnosis may help predict severe infections and mortality in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) taking immunosuppression therapy, a study suggests.  The study, “The…