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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…

Prolonged exposure to the silica dust that construction and other industries generate contributes to the development of the small blood vessel disease known as microscopic polyangiitis, according to a Japanese case study. Microscopic polyangiitis, or MPA, is one of three types of a category of diseases known as ANCA-associated vasculitis, or…

A man who had granulomatosis with polyangiitis and small lung lesions bled in the air sacs of his lungs after doctors treated him for his inflammatory blood vessel condition, a Japanese case study shows. Essentially, this meant that his condition had taken a turn for the worse. A mix of…

A case report of a patient with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) along with ocular involvement suggests that Rituxan (rituximab) might be successful for people who don’t respond to prednisolone and cyclophosphamide. The study, “Peripheral Ulcerative Keratitis Associated with Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis Emerging Despite Cyclophosphamide, Successfully Treated with Rituximab,”…

Rituxan (rituximab) treatment is effective in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) who failed to respond to standard immunosuppressors, results from a Turkish study suggest. But the team at Istanbul University noted that key data on its use — especially long-term data — is still lacking. The…