Blood levels of ANCAs can help identify AAV and its severity: Study

Blood levels of ANCAs — the disease-causing antibodies that give ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) its name — can be used to help distinguish AAV from other conditions in which ANCAs might also be present, a study showed. Higher levels of the antibodies at diagnosis also were significantly tied to greater…

The severity of anemia, or low levels of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin, is significantly associated with certain kidney lesions in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and kidney involvement, a study showed. These findings “reflect an additional aspect of anemia pathophysiology [disease mechanisms] in ANCA-associated renal vasculitis,” the researchers wrote. The study,…

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is the most common type of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) in Italy and is linked to worse symptoms and higher mortality and healthcare costs than microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), another common AAV type, a study finds. Using immunosuppressive glucocorticoids was also associated with higher costs…

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Treatment with rituximab has a similar efficacy to cyclophosphamide — both of them standard immunosuppressive therapies — in reducing short-time mortality in adults with life-threatening ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a study in Japan found. Moreover, rituximab was associated with a significantly lower risk of fungal infections relative to cyclophosphamide. However,…

A treatment regimen that combines low-dose glucocorticoids and rituximab is just as effective at controlling ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) as a standard regimen of high-dose glucocorticoids and rituximab, according to two-year data from a clinical trial. The long-term findings indicate that, while the efficacy is comparable, the risk of serious…

Lower-than-normal counts of lymphocytes, a type of immune cell, are linked to a higher risk of severe infection in older adults with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), the most common type of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), according to a new Japanese study. In fact, the study found that “56 severe infectious…

The ANCA Renal Risk Score, known as the ARRS, was found to be better than standard methods at predicting the likelihood of kidney failure in children with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) who have kidney inflammation, a study in China showed. “Our findings suggest that ARRS is an independent risk factor…

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) may present different lung involvement patterns depending on the type of disease and self-reactive antibodies driving the disease, according to a small study. Given that “the type of pulmonary involvement in AAV is important to predict prognosis and mortality as well as for treatment…

The ANCA Renal Risk Score (ARRS) — based on kidney biopsy and lab results — could accurately predict kidney failure in a large group of Scottish people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a study shows. The test better discriminates the risk of kidney failure in AAV and may offer clinicians…