Andrea Lobo, PhD,  science writer—

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients with neurological manifestations are more than three times more likely to have large blood vessel involvement (LVI), according to a multicenter study in France and Belgium. Data also showed that LVI most commonly affected the aorta — the large artery that delivers oxygen-rich blood to…

While it’s rare in children, ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV)-related glomerulonephritis, that is, an inflammation of the glomeruli, the kidneys’ filtering units, is associated with high rates of kidney failure or death, a study shows. Also, scar tissue accumulating in the glomeruli, other kidney tissue abnormalities, and high protein levels in…

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) who are positive for antibodies against both myeloperoxidase (MPO) and proteinase 3 (PR3) show a combination of clinical characteristics from patients with each antibody type, according to a recent study in China. While double-positive patients are generally more similar to those with MPO-ANCAs, particularly…

The risk of poor outcomes after a kidney transplant is considerably higher for ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients with kidney failure than people without the autoimmune disease, ranging from infections and disease relapse to death, a review study reports. But long-term survival rates for those who make it through the…

Tavneos (avacopan) safely and effectively promotes clinical remission in people with newly diagnosed or relapsing ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), according to a multicenter, real-world study in the U.S. The remission rates after a year of treatment were higher than those in the Phase 3 ADVOCATE trial (NCT02994927), whose…

Occupational exposure to silica, one of the most common minerals in the earth’s crust, may lead to microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) — a type of ANCA-associated vasculitis — particularly in individuals with a genetic predisposition to autoimmune diseases, a case report suggests. Silica, found in sand and rocks, is known to…

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) relapses occur more frequently during the summer and spring, particularly for people with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) or with anti-proteinase 3 (PR3) antibodies, a study in Japan reports. More frequent nasal infections caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus during the summer in Japan may trigger inflammation…

A 64-year-old man with severe granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) saw his condition improve with the use of a triple combination of standard cyclophosphamide and glucocorticoids along with the experimental therapy telitacicept, according to a case report from China. RemeGen’s telitacicept is approved in China under the brand name…

The severity of anemia, or low levels of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin, is significantly associated with certain kidney lesions in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and kidney involvement, a study showed. These findings “reflect an additional aspect of anemia pathophysiology [disease mechanisms] in ANCA-associated renal vasculitis,” the researchers wrote. The study,…

Treatment with rituximab has a similar efficacy to cyclophosphamide — both of them standard immunosuppressive therapies — in reducing short-time mortality in adults with life-threatening ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a study in Japan found. Moreover, rituximab was associated with a significantly lower risk of fungal infections relative to cyclophosphamide. However,…