Over 230 national organizations signed a letter urging all 50 U.S. state governors to “maintain and expand” flexibility with licensure requirements for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic to ease access to care. During the pandemic, governors used emergency authority to waive certain state licensure requirements, giving healthcare providers…
Rare Disease Groups in US Join in Plea for Care Across State Lines
As the holiday season approaches, people will begin making travel plans, and their to-do lists can be extensive. Book a flight. Communicate with family. Check the weather forecast. Do laundry. Being sick and having a weakened immune system, however, can add even more items…
A committee of the European Medicines Agency has recommended approving Tavneos (avacopan) as an add-on therapy for adults with severe, active microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) or granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), the two most common types of ANCA-associated vasculitis. This recommendation from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use…
A new classification system, based on the underlying cause of disease, may be necessary to better understand ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and other disorders characterized by inflammation in the blood vessels. That’s according to a team led by scientists at Aarhus University, in Denmark, who published their idea for the…
When November comes, I start to think about hibernating. As soon as the temperature dips below a certain range, some kind of primitive signal goes off in my head. It’s a little voice that says, “Time to stay indoors and get comfortable.” After all, when it’s dreary…
After an initial biopsy shows signs of active ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) affecting the kidneys, repeat biopsies are better at determining active disease than standard measures of kidney function, a new observational study reports. Such repeat kidney biopsies may help determine treatment response and personalize care plans for people with…
Kidney disease is less common among people with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), but some patients may experience severe kidney damage and require management by specialists, a case report shows. The study, “Renal Involvement in Eosinophilic Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis,” was published in the journal Kidney International Reports.
It sometimes feels silly when I receive an invitation for an event happening more than a year in the future. This is because the details of my everyday life can be so overwhelming it’s all I can do to focus on the here and now. Maybe I’ll focus on next…
A retrospective study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that healthcare costs for those with rare diseases have been underestimated, possibly being three to five times higher than for those without rare diseases. This study provides evidence of the potential effect rare diseases may have on public health…
A woman of childbearing years developed ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) after taking the thyroid medication methimazole to treat her Graves’ disease, a case report shows. The patient experienced signs of respiratory and kidney failure secondary to AAV, but her symptoms improved after discontinuing the medication and starting immunosuppressive medications. Four…
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- Study points to 2 biomarkers for AAV disease activity, relapse
- Monitoring our kidney health is crucial with ANCA vasculitis