Patricia Inacio, PhD, science writer —

Two blood parameters — interleukin 8 (IL-8) and the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) — may help identify ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients with high disease activity and those at risk of poor prognosis, a single center study in China suggests. “IL-18 may be adopted as one of the important biological markers…

Most people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) experience acute or chronic kidney injury, according to a five-year national study in the U.S. More severe kidney damage is observed in people with the AAV disease type microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) than in those with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), and less severe symptoms are…

Long-term treatment with benralizumab — sold as Fasenra for a rare type of asthma — safely leads to clinical remission in up to two-thirds of people with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), a real-world study shows. “Across a [two]-year period of treatment, we have observed extremely positive outcomes with benralizumab…

Treatment with Nucala (mepolizumab) for three or more years is safe, and was effective at easing symptoms and reducing the risk of relapse in people with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), the most rare type of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a real-world study in Japan shows. Further, the need…

In people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), evaluating kidney function by a test known as the estimated glomerular filtration rate within six months after their diagnosis helps assess their risk of kidney failure, a study shows. The study, “Adding 6-month parameters for the prediction of kidney prognosis…

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) with kidney involvement is the most common cause of kidney disease among elderly people, but most older patients appear to benefit from appropriate therapy as well as younger AAV patients with kidney damage. That’s according to a study in Germany that found no significant differences in…

Lower-than-normal counts of lymphocytes, a type of immune cell, are linked to a higher risk of severe infection in older adults with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), the most common type of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), according to a new Japanese study. In fact, the study found that “56 severe infectious…

The ANCA Renal Risk Score, known as the ARRS, was found to be better than standard methods at predicting the likelihood of kidney failure in children with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) who have kidney inflammation, a study in China showed. “Our findings suggest that ARRS is an independent risk factor…

Rates of preterm delivery, lower-than-normal birth weight, and maternal disease flares are higher among pregnant women with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) than in the general population, according to a review study. Despite this, “most pregnancies resulted in healthy newborns and manageable, non-life-threatening flares of AAV,” the researchers wrote, suggesting that “pregnancy…

Nearly three-quarters of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients treated with rituximab fail to mount an effective immune response against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, following two doses of vaccines. That’s according to data from the U.K.-based OCTAVE trial, which evaluated immune responses to vaccines in patients with reduced immune…