News

The disease-causing autoantibodies are sometimes present long before the onset of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) symptoms, with distinct disease features depending on their antibody type, a recent study finds. Overall, the study presents “evidence of an initiation of the autoimmune process in…

Levels of the chitinase-3-like 1 (YKL-40) protein in the blood may serve as a helpful biomarker of disease activity in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), findings from a new study suggest. Yet, additional studies are needed to validate the results and elucidate the role of YKL-40 in AAV, the…

Research into the potential interplay between different immune system components and coagulation in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), COVID-19 and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has won a grant from the Academic Alliance Fund (AAF). The grant was awarded to Johan van der Vlag, PhD, and Cansu Yanginlar, MSc, at the…

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) who receive rituximab treatment may have a higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes and should therefore be considered vaccination priorities, a recent case report suggests. The time since a patient’s last rituximab infusion and their current immunoglobulin level appear to be the most important…

Many diseases have their own awareness color — breast cancer is pink, muscular dystrophy is green, and AIDS is red, for example — but what’s the significance of pink, green, blue, and purple lights side-by-side? These are the colors most often used to represent Rare Disease Day. This…

Kidney transplant recipients, whose kidney failure stemmed from ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), have less risk of disease recurrence but a higher risk of dying with a functioning transplant,  a recent study suggests. These patients also had a higher risk of dying from complications due to immunosuppression and infection. The study,…

The antibody rituximab is a good alternative to cyclophosphamide for inducing remission in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), and is better than azathioprine as a maintenance therapy, researchers reported. These were among the findings from a recent review study that investigated the relative benefits and risks associated with different…

The majority of people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and other forms of vasculitis plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and about one-third has already received at least one dose, a recent survey shows. Yet, about 23% of respondents said they are unsure or not planning to receive a…

Measuring liver scarring at diagnosis, using the FIB-5 liver fibrosis index, can help predict kidney failure in people with the two most common subtypes of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a study reports. Yet, this index was unable to predict mortality from any cause in these patients — who had either…

Diagnosed with sickle cell disease as a 6-month-old, Tristan Lee has faced a lot of challenges over his 37 years of life. But from a young age, he also learned how to turn those trials into triumphs. At age 9, a stroke due to his disease left him paralyzed…