News

AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Tied to AAV-related Kidney Damage

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine may have triggered kidney inflammation linked to ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) in a 51-year-old woman, according to a case report. “Due to the temporal association between the application of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine and the onset of renal [kidney] function decline in a previously healthy patient, it…

Immune Macrophages Play Key Role in Kidney Inflammation in AAV

Immune macrophages or cells that carry the proteins CD163 and/or CD206 play a key role in kidney inflammation in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a study reported. Researchers found that these distinct macrophages contribute to the inflammatory process in different ways. Moreover, the team determined that both CD163 and…

Prednisolone Dose, Poorer Kidney Health Linked to Severe COVID-19

Poorer kidney function and relatively high doses of the corticosteroid prednisolone — possibly indicating active disease — can increase the risk of severe COVID-19 for people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a Swedish study suggests. “Our findings highlight risks and suggest that more attention should be given to optimal AAV treatment in…

Risk Factors for Acute Exacerbation in ANCA-ILD ID’d in New Study

Poor lung function and high levels of inflammatory biomarkers in the bloodstream were found to be risk factors for acute exacerbation — an episode of sudden symptom worsening — in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated interstitial lung disease. That’s according to a new study, “Acute exacerbation…

Switzerland OK’s Tavneos as Add-on Therapy for GPA, MPA

Tavneos (avacopan) has been approved as an add-on therapy for adults in Switzerland with severe, active microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) or granulomatosis polyangiitis (GPA), the two main types of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). Following the decision by the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, Swissmedic, the launch of Tavneos is expected…

Increased Arterial Stiffness Seen in Patients in Long-term Remission

People with ANCA vasculitis (AAV) in long-term remission have increased arterial stiffness, a sign of cardiovascular disease, a study reports. The mechanisms underlying acute cardiovascular disease risk in AAV were associated with endothelin-1, a molecule that promotes blood vessel narrowing. In the placebo-controlled study, blocking endothelin-1 receptors was found…

Pro-inflammatory S100 Proteins Found to Play Role in AAV

Elevated levels of certain pro-inflammatory proteins were found in the bloodstream and urine of people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), and correlated with disease severity, a study shows. Findings suggest that two of these proteins — S100A8/A9 and S100A12 — from the S100 family of proteins, play a role in…