News

A reinforced pneumonia (pneumococcal) vaccination scheme, where one of the two vaccine types available is given at higher doses than usual, appears to be safe and may help people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) who are on rituximab to build better immunity against pneumococcal disease. These are the findings of…

Two cases of teen boys with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) that caused heart problems — a very rare manifestation of the autoimmune disease — were described in a recent report. AAV-related heart issues may contribute to serious health concerns such as stroke, so it is important to screen for these…

Nasal Staphylococcus aureus infections don’t appear to influence disease activity in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients with ear, nose, and throat involvement, a study suggests. Treatment with antibiotics to clear S. aureus infections didn’t reduce disease activity either. “Our study shows no difference in systemic and local disease activity between…

An 87-year-old man with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), kidney disease and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSSC) — a type of skin cancer — partially responded to cemiplimab treatment without developing kidney complications or immune-related side effects. However, his response to cemiplimab was delayed as the tumor initially grew,  but regressed…

Half of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) developed a poor long-term outcome — kidney disease, cancer or death — in the years after their diagnosis, according to a recent study in China. Impaired kidney filtration, low blood potassium, older age, and kidney or heart involvement at diagnosis were among…

Vasculitis UK is supporting a team of scientists investigating whether rising levels of inflammation due to aging — a process dubbed inflammageing — may be at the root of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). The charity has awarded a research grant to professors at Trinity College Dublin, in…

Amgen is the new owner of Tavneos (avacopan), an approved ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) therapy, following its successful $3.7 billion cash acquisition of ChemoCentryx. “ChemoCentryx enhances Amgen’s leading inflammation and nephrology portfolio and includes Tavneos (avacopan), a first-in-class treatment for severe active anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis (ANCA-associated vasculitis), an…

The occurrence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and its pattern on high-resolution imaging scans vary according to the profile of self-reactive antibodies in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), according to a recent study. Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) are two types of ANCA-associated vasculitis. ILD…

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 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…