News

Vasculitis Foundation Awards $160,000 for 3 New Research Projects

The Vasculitis Foundation announced the 2018 awardees of its one-year grants, amounting a total of $160,000. The three project winners were selected from 20 applications from research teams around the world. To date, the Vasculitis Foundation has granted more than $2.5 million for a total of 49 research studies. Among…

Some Patients with Hydralazine-related AAV Develop Advanced Kidney Disease, Study Finds

Some patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) caused by hydralazine — a medication used to treat high blood pressure — develop end-stage kidney disease, even after discontinuing the medicine and receiving immunosuppressive therapy, a small study found. The risk for hydralazine-induced AAV appears to be higher among African-Americans, according to the Johns Hopkins…

Azathioprine Therapy in AAV Patients Not Affected by TPMT Enzyme Activity, Study Shows

Compared to patients with inflammatory bowel disorders, the safety and efficacy of azathioprine treatment in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients is not affected by lower TPMT protein activity, researchers found. The study, “Thiopurine methyltransferase genotype and activity cannot predict outcomes of azathioprine maintenance therapy for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody…

NIH Agency Pioneers Collaborative Research into Rare Diseases

A little-known government entity within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is helping to lead U.S. efforts to speed up the development of therapies for some 7,000 rare diseases. The Office of Rare Diseases Research (ORDR), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, was established in 1993 within the NIH Office of the…

Faulty Immune System Component in AAV Leads to Neutrophil Activation, Kidney Damage, Study Shows

A faulty immune system component in patients with active ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) is not equipped to stop ANCA-induced neutrophil activation, leading to kidney damage, a Chinese study shows. The component is called complement factor H. The study, titled “Complement Factor H Inhibits Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Autoantibody-Induced Neutrophil Activation by…

FDA Approves AESKU’s Automated Diagnostic Tests for ANCA-associated Vasculitis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two automated diagnostic tests that AESKU.Group developed for ANCA-associated vasculitis. AESKU used its HELIOS technology to develop the tests. HELIOS is the only diagnostic tool capable of both processing and analyzing a patient’s blood sample via an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) in a single run, the…