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The autoimmune condition ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) needs improved classification systems that can better predict disease outcomes, a Spanish study says. Disease management should be based more on individual patient characteristics and levels of disease severity than on general classifications or ANCA specificities, the researchers suggest. The study, “…

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy leads to a fast and significant reduction in disease activity, as well as in the levels of inflammatory biomarkers, in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a review of several studies found. The study, “The therapeutic efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin in anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody-associated…

Imagine living your whole life with a painful disease so rare that only 25 others worldwide have what you have. And that you’re one of just six such people who’ve made it to adulthood. Neena Nizar doesn’t have to imagine. The 41-year-old English professor at Metro Community College in Elkhorn,…

Dividing people with active ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) into different subgroups may be useful for determining prognosis and selecting each person’s best course of treatment, researchers say. The classification method would be based on the levels of specific types of immune cells found in the patients’ blood. Results from…

Healthy individuals also produce a type of self-reactive antibodies — termed IgM ANCA — present in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a study has found. While low, the levels in healthy people are comparable with those in AAV patients whose disease is less active. The antibodies’ role is still…

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) can cause kidney damage without affecting the glomeruli, the filtering unit of the kidneys, a case report suggests. Doctors should consider this possibility to avoid a late diagnosis and irreversible kidney damage, especially if anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCAs) against myeloperoxidase (MPO) are present, according to…

Researchers say an important clinical assessment is determining whether ANCA-associated vasculitis patients who need dialysis at disease onset, due to severe kidney damage, can become dialysis independent. A study has now found that people with AAV are more likely to achieve that independence if their kidney manifestations are…

ANCA-associated vasculitis patients who develop oral candidiasis during treatment with immunosuppressants have a significantly greater risk of severe infections compared to patients who never develop oral candidiasis, a study shows. Together with use of methylprednisolone pulse therapy and higher serum albumin levels, oral thrush appears to be a significant…

When autoimmune diseases such as ANCA-associated vasculitis are found at the same time as cancer, properly diagnosing and treating them alongside the cancer is crucial to ensuring best outcomes for the patient, a case report suggests. The study, “Simultaneous Occurrence of Sarcoidosis and Anti-neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-associated Vasculitis in a…

Oklahoma suffers more tornadoes than any other state, has the highest per-capita rate of women in U.S. prisons, ranks second in the number of teen births per 100,000 teenage girls, and has the nation’s third-highest rate of uninsured residents — with 13.9% of all Oklahomans lacking health coverage. As if…