Patricia Inacio, PhD, science writer —

High blood levels of the syndecan-1 protein, known to promote the survival of antibody-producing B cells, may help identify ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients with high disease activity — and those at risk of a poor prognosis — a new study suggests. The researchers defined two cut-off values of syndecan-1…

Using data from the largest ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patient database compiled to date, researchers identified five new subgroups that predict patient outcomes better than classifying patients according to granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), two AAV subtypes. The new disease clusters, identified with advanced artificial intelligence (AI)…

Treatment with the asthma medication montelukast may trigger eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), the rarest type of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a case-based review study suggests. The study, “Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis and its association with montelukast: a case-based review,” was published in Clinical Rheumatology. AAV is a…

Melodia Therapeutics has acquired the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize MDI-0151, a candidate therapy for hard-to-treat ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and other disorders marked by overactivation of neutrophils, a type of immune cell. Melodia said it will “rapidly initiate” investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies in preparation of a…

Sinonasal manifestations — those encompassing the nose and the paranasal sinuses, or the air-filled cavities around the nose — in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) vary among patients, based on disease activity and duration. That’s according to a small, retrospective study of GPA patients with sinonasal manifestations seen at a…

AstraZeneca’s Fasenra (benralizumab), which is approved for a rare type of asthma, led to clinical remission in up to 70% of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) patients taking the therapy off-label in the real-world setting. The therapy was also associated with a reduced daily dose of oral…

A Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and preliminary efficacy of Sana Biotechnology’s candidate CAR T-cell therapy SC291 in adults with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and other autoimmune diseases has started enrollment. The study, GLEAM (NCT06294236), is recruiting up to 36 patients ranging in age from 18…

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…