Steve Bryson, PhD, science writer —

A committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — which provides the agency with non-binding recommendations from independent medical experts — has narrowly supported the approval of avacopan for the treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). In the final segment of a public meeting,…

Serious infections occur more frequently in people with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis who have higher disease activity at diagnosis, a real-world, long-term study showed. Moreover, most serious infections occur during the first year after the ANCA vasculitis diagnosis, the study found.

Vasculitis UK has granted £53,364 (about $73,500) to support a research project investigating how people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and other vasculitis respond to COVID-19 vaccines.  Led by Lucy Fairclough, PhD, an associate professor at Nottingham University, in the U.K., the project seeks to…

Changes in autoantibodies that target the protein PR3 in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) may help predict sustained remission following treatment, and eventual disease relapses, a study found. The research also shows that the ALBIA method, which is becoming widely…

A group of proteins that modulate immune responses, called heat shock proteins (HSPs), are significantly elevated in the kidneys of people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), and their levels are associated with poorer kidney function and organ survival, a multi-year study found.  These…

Low levels of the protein alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) do not appear to be enough to increase the risk of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) — despite prior associations of AAT deficiency with AAV — according to a new study.

Depression is more common in people with primary systemic vasculitides, including in those with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), than in healthy people, a review study has found.  Depression in vasculitis patients was also significantly associated with a poorer quality of…

A combination of both blood tests and biopsy (tissue) analysis was better at predicting end-stage renal disease in people with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) compared to tissue analysis alone, a study has found.  The scientists recommended using the AAV renal…

Blood vessels in the kidneys that swell due to an infection can mimic ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), making diagnosis and treatment of these two conditions challenging, a case study shows.  Identifying and treating infections associated with AAV are essential to helping patients, the researchers…

An elderly woman was diagnosed with the granulomatosis with polyangiiti (GPA) subtype of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) after being misdiagnosed with pneumonia, illustrating the challenges in diagnosing this condition, according to a case report.  All types of AAV should be in the differential diagnosis for all…