Patricia Inacio, PhD,  science writer—

Patricia holds her PhD in cell biology from the University Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, and has served as an author on several research projects and fellowships, as well as major grant applications for European agencies. She also served as a PhD student research assistant in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University, New York, for which she was awarded a Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) fellowship.

Articles by Patricia Inácio

Review study highlights AAV-ILD patients’ mortality risk factors

A higher risk of death among AAV patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) is significantly associated with older age, episodes of sudden symptom worsening, and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), a common type of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). That’s according to a review of published studies that also pointed…

Nucala lowers disease activity, steroid use with EGPA in real world

Long-term treatment with Nucala (mepolizumab) reduces disease activity and helps to prevent progressive organ damage in people with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), the rarest type of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), data from a real-world study show. Finding among patients in Spain also showed that most using Nucala were able…

Plasma exchange improves early kidney recovery in AAV: Study

Plasma exchange added to standard immunosuppressive treatments helps improve early kidney function in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) who have glomerulonephritis, an inflammation of the kidneys’ filtering units, reducing the risk of kidney failure within the first year. That’s according to a new analysis of data from the…

AI model identifies AAV subgroups that better predict outcomes

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)…

Asthma drug may trigger rare ANCA-associated vasculitis

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 buys rights to potential AAV therapy MDI-0151

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…