Rituximab Use in Children Not Likely to Raise Serious Infection Risk

Prolonged low levels of immunoglobulin antibodies as a result of rituximab treatment did not increase the likelihood of serious infections in children with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) or microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) — the two most common forms of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). This was according to a post-hoc analysis of…

Many people think music is a luxury. Others call it a necessity. But everyone agrees that music is enjoyable and rounds out a full life with everything the earthly and spiritual worlds have to offer. As a vasculitis patient, I’d like to add one more level of consideration. Music to…

A recent case report highlights the difficulties that can occur in diagnosing granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), a form of ANCA-associated vasculitis, after a patient was initially diagnosed and treated for tuberculosis. The male patient had a mass in the mediastinum — the space between the lungs — initially attributed…

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) has updated its State Report Card to make it more digitally friendly and added telehealth to its categories of rare disease policy issues in a nod to its increased use during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. NORD’s report card project began seven…

Significantly high levels of the inflammatory protein pentraxin-3 (PTX3) were found in the bloodstream and urine of people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), particularly those with kidney involvement, a study revealed. Unlike C-reactive protein (CRP), a widely used inflammatory biomarker, PTX3 correlated with standard measures of AAV disease activity before…

Infliximab successfully led to the remission of respiratory symptoms in a 15-year-old boy with steroid-resistant granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), a type of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), according to a case report. More studies are needed to determine the treatment’s safety profile in children, the researchers noted. The report, “…

Antimicrobial webs produced by neutrophils — immune cells that respond quickly to bodily injury — may be implicated in the development of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) accompanied by lung scarring (fibrosis), a recent review of several published studies revealed. These webs of DNA and antimicrobial proteins are known as neutrophil…

Stellate ganglion block, a procedure where a pain-relieving medicine is injected into the neck to block certain nerves, might be a successful therapeutic approach for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), a recent case study suggests. The procedure helped control symptoms and lower corticosteroid doses, which are associated with detrimental…

Compared with standard glucocorticoid regimen, a reduced-dose regimen may lower the risk of death and serious infections, while not increasing the risk of kidney failure, in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), according to a review study. No major differences between regimens were detected in terms of disease remission, relapse,…

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” — Norman Vincent Peale In a vasculitis lifestyle, shooting for the moon could mean hoping for a cure. We know it’s unrealistic to expect one so soon — after all, the group of disorders has only been…