Self-discipline Can Be a Stabilizer in Life With Vasculitis

When the world outside of your head becomes overwhelming and you need to cling to something for support, where do you find your center? With vasculitis, that world is an unfamiliar one. It’s full of new challenges, new details a patient is obligated to learn for their own…

A combination of rituximab, prednisone, and tacrolimus effectively treated a recurrence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) after a kidney transplant, a case study reported. The case highlights the importance of closely monitoring AAV patients on immunosuppressive therapy with belatacept, particularly when a kidney injury follows a kidney…

“This isn’t the life that I planned, but it’s the life that I got,” an athlete friend of mine recently said as he sipped his latte. Now in his 70s, my friend was reflecting on a life he had worked hard for, but which wasn’t quite what he had imagined.

Measuring the number of immune T-cells in urine could be used to help identify kidney damage in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a new study suggests. These urinary T-cells also may aid in predicting treatment responses and the risk of future disease relapse. “Their promising potential as noninvasive…

Higher blood levels of the molecule pro-calcitonin (PCT) are a marker of lung infection among ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients with lung disease, a new study reports. Combining PCT with other blood markers can further increase the accuracy of identifying infection, and may be useful for distinguishing between AAV-related lung…

Patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) have a higher risk of mortality than the general population, especially those who are older or have impaired kidney function, a long-term outcome analysis study has found. Infections were the leading cause of death, with treatment complications, such as immunosuppression and blood vessel inflammation,…

Those of you who have followed my column for at least a year might recall my annual January tradition, called Hibernation. I treat it as a mental and physical reset, and eagerly look forward to it after the bustle of the holiday season. I began Hibernating in 2016…

An elderly woman was diagnosed with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) after having an ischemic stroke, a condition wherein a blood clot cuts off blood supply to a part of the brain, a case study reported. It’s rare that AAV manifests in the central nervous system, which is made up of…

For many years, I lived with an anxiety-crippled brain from being a self-absorbed endurance athlete who had been diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis — a form of vasculitis — at a young age. That pain was almost a badge of honor. I had suffered more than most people…

Nearly one-third of adults with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) would choose plasma exchange regardless of varying risks of kidney failure and severe infection, according to an international study. One-fifth of patients would make that choice only in high-risk scenarios and one-sixth would reject that treatment in all scenarios, however.