News

Awareness Month to focus on personal experiences, connections

Personal stories, community connections, and encouraging videos will be among the highlights as patients, doctors, researchers, and advocates recognize International Vasculitis Day on May 15 and the rest of Vasculitis Awareness Month. Vasculitis is a group of rare autoimmune diseases characterized by inflammation and damage to blood vessels. Most…

IFN-gamma protein levels at MPA onset may predict relapses

Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) patients with high blood levels of the inflammatory protein interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) at the onset of their disease are significantly more likely to have relapses despite treatment, a small study in Japan shows. The findings suggest IFN-gamma may serve as a biomarker to predict relapses in MPA,…

Fasenra, Nucala equally effective, safe in EGPA: Real-world study

Fasenra (benralizumab) and Nucala (mepolizumab) appear to be equally safe and effective in helping adults with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) achieve disease remission, according to a real-world study in Europe that directly compared the two approved therapies. Still, at one year, AstraZeneca’s Fasenra was associated with…

Blood GDF15 levels at diagnosis seen as predicting outcomes

Blood levels of a signaling molecule called growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) at diagnosis may help predict poor outcomes, including kidney failure and death, in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), according to a study in South Korea. Data also showed that GDF15 levels were significantly associated with AAV…

ANCA test may help tell MPA from GPA, study shows

Testing for the presence of specific self-reactive antibodies linked to ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) may help doctors more easily tell microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) from granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), the two most common types of AAV, a study showed. Classifying patients as MPA or GPA based on the different types…

C4d protein may be biomarker of ANCA-associated vasculitis activity

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) have significantly higher blood levels of C4d, a protein that reflects activation of the classic or lectin complement pathways of the immune system, a study in Sweden suggests. Patients with self-reactive antibodies, called ANCAs, against the proteinase-3 (PR3) protein had significantly higher blood Cd4…

Conduit secures US patent for potential AAV therapy AZD1656

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Conduit Pharmaceuticals a patent for AZD1656, its experimental therapy for ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and other autoimmune diseases. The USPTO granted a composition of matter patent, which is a type of patent that relates to novel compounds made from two or…