News

Low daily doses of oral prednisone — 2.5 mg/day or less — during long-term remission maintenance therapy was associated with a higher rate of relapse in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) in Japan, a study reports. The study, “Risk Factors for Relapse of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-associated Vasculitis in…

An increase in the production of ANCA antibodies may sometimes be associated with Sweet’s syndrome, a rare condition characterized by painful skin lesions, a case report shows. The study, “Sweet’s Syndrome Mimicking ANCA-Associated Vasculitis,” was published in The American Journal of Medicine. Sweet’s syndrome, also known…

A shorter glucocorticoid treatment course, given in combination with Rituxan (rituximab), may be beneficial for some patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis, a study shows. The study, “Reducing glucocorticoid duration in ANCA-associated vasculitis: A pilot trial,” was published in the journal Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism. While modern…

Some blood vessel inflammation cases stem from a group of diseases collectively known as ANCA-associated vasculitis, while others don’t. Chinese scientists have discovered a first: a non-ANCA-associated vasculitis case that turned into an ANCA-associated one. Doctors call an ANCA-associated case an ANCA-positive case, and a non-associated case an ANCA-negative case. At…

David Curtis Glebe, a retired 64-year-old public prosecutor now living in Millsboro, Delaware, knows he’s lucky to be alive. In mid-2013, while in Arizona, Glebe was diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer (PNET) — the same disease that killed Apple’s founder and CEO Steve Jobs. After three years of progress…

Researchers developed a new questionnaire that assesses a patient’s perspective on how anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, or AAV, impacts health-related quality of life. While the questionnaire should be shorter and validity testing is needed, this patient-reported measure has already helped clinicians understand which health-related outcomes matter most to…

Persistent findings of blood in the urine may predict the likelihood of kidney disease returning in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, a study reports. And it underscores the role that a simple test — urinalysis — can play in predicting a patient’s risk. “The findings of this study…

A rare case of inflammatory disease affecting the protective membrane of the central nervous system was linked to anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO) autoantibodies in a case report. The Japanese study, “A case of suspected MPO-ANCA-related hypertrophic pachymeningitis with atypical presentation,” was published in the Journal of Family and…

This week marks the launch of the “7,000 Mile Rare Movement,” a nationwide effort to raise money for research into the 7,000 known rare diseases that afflict at least 30 million Americans. The campaign kicks off Feb. 1 and culminates with Rare Disease Day on Feb. 28. Organized by…

A new study found why some patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) have autoantibodies in the blood, but not at the sites of injury. This matter has puzzled scientists for a long time. While MPO autoantibodies are needed to induce vasculitis in such patients, the cells causing the injury produce an…