Janet Stewart, MSc,  —

Pregnant women who develop ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) may safely receive Rituxan (rituximab) and corticosteroids, a case study suggests. However, this is the first study describing Rituxan’s use in pregnant women with vasculitis, and researchers say more evidence of its safety and effectiveness  is needed. The study, “…

InflaRx will soon begin a Phase 2 clinical trial assessing the safety and effectiveness of IFX-1 — an inhibitor of the complement system — in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). This follows the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the company’s investigational new drug application (IND). The Phase…

Some patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) caused by hydralazine — a medication used to treat high blood pressure — develop end-stage kidney disease, even after discontinuing the medicine and receiving immunosuppressive therapy, a small study found. The risk for hydralazine-induced AAV appears to be higher among African-Americans, according to the Johns Hopkins…

A new study found why some patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) have autoantibodies in the blood, but not at the sites of injury. This matter has puzzled scientists for a long time. While MPO autoantibodies are needed to induce vasculitis in such patients, the cells causing the injury produce an…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Nucala (mepolizumab) as an add-on to standard care for treating eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), previously called Churg-Strauss syndrome. “Patients suffering from EGPA too often face a frustrating journey from a delay in receiving a proper diagnosis to having…

Dutch scientists have identified different genes in Staphylococcus aureus — a kind of bacteria carried in the nostrils — in either patients with PR3-ANCA vasculitis or with MPO-ANCA-positive vasculitis. The results suggest that the genes they found are relevant in causing and prolonging the disease. The study, “Genetic loci…

A review about the anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) glomerulonephritis and vasculitis outlined the best way to characterize the different kinds of ANCA-associated disease in order to provide better treatment. The review, “ANCA Glomerulonephritis and Vasculitis,” was published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society…