News

Treatment with the CD20 inhibitor rituximab is significantly associated with poor antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccines among people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a study found. However, the number of antibody-producing B-cells, the rituximab dose, and the timing between last rituximab administration and vaccination were all important factors determining how…

Winding up its 35th year, the U.S.-based Vasculitis Foundation (VF) is making its annual call for support for its programs and initiatives, which aim to help existing and future vasculitis patients. Key among them is to train more clinicians for treating ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). Calling itself the world’s…

Immunoadsorption, a procedure that removes specific antibodies from the blood, may speed remission in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and serious kidney disease and help more patients attain this outcome, a small study found. The treatment approach also lowered mortality and reduced the risk of kidney failure or death…

Blood levels of several proteins — CXCL13, interleukins IL-6, IL-8, IL-15, IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) — were validated as effective at identifying active ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) in a long-term study. The study, “Serum Biomarkers of Disease Activity in Longitudinal Assessment…

Outcomes of kidney transplants for children with kidney failure related to ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) are comparable to outcomes of transplants for children with other causes of kidney disease, highlighting that the procedure is generally safe and effective for children with AAV. That’s according to the study “…

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in the months immediately following AAV diagnosis, a population-based analysis found. “Our study demonstrates a key ‘high-risk window’ that should prompt careful monitoring for CV [cardiovascular] disease and aggressive risk factor reduction,” the scientists said. The…

People over the age of 65 with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) have worse mortality outcomes than younger patients, but kidney failure is not greater in this group, according to a recent study. These worse outcomes were associated with lower levels of hemoglobin — the protein responsible for carrying oxygen in…

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) adopt a range of strategies that help them to better cope with the condition on their own, but several areas of self-management could be addressed more immediately through conversations with their physicians, a study found. The study, “Addressing the transition to a chronic…

The case of a man in Saudi Arabia with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), a form of ANCA-associated vasculitis, highlights the difficulties that can occur in diagnosing this disease, a case study reports. The report is one of the few documented instances of GPA in Saudi Arabia. The study, “…

Blood levels of progranulin — a protein involved in cell development, cell growth, and wound healing — may predict the severity of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a new observational study suggests. According to researchers, serum progranulin, or the protein’s levels in the bloodstream, “could be used as a predictive marker…