Self-antibodies May Appear Years Before AAV Symptom Onset

The disease-causing autoantibodies are sometimes present long before the onset of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) symptoms, with distinct disease features depending on their antibody type, a recent study finds. Overall, the study presents “evidence of an initiation of the autoimmune process in…

Levels of the chitinase-3-like 1 (YKL-40) protein in the blood may serve as a helpful biomarker of disease activity in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), findings from a new study suggest. Yet, additional studies are needed to validate the results and elucidate the role of YKL-40 in AAV, the…

“You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a not-so-wondrous land of side effects. … Next stop: the ‘predni-zone.'” I have been living in the “predni-zone” for more than 14 years. In eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis…

Research into the potential interplay between different immune system components and coagulation in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), COVID-19 and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has won a grant from the Academic Alliance Fund (AAF). The grant was awarded to Johan van der Vlag, PhD, and Cansu Yanginlar, MSc, at the…

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) who receive rituximab treatment may have a higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes and should therefore be considered vaccination priorities, a recent case report suggests. The time since a patient’s last rituximab infusion and their current immunoglobulin level appear to be the most important…

Some days, I wake up and never want to leave the comfort of my bed. I don’t want to get up and struggle through the day. I don’t want to remember that I have eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), and even simple tasks take more energy than I have.

Many diseases have their own awareness color — breast cancer is pink, muscular dystrophy is green, and AIDS is red, for example — but what’s the significance of pink, green, blue, and purple lights side-by-side? These are the colors most often used to represent Rare Disease Day. This…

Kidney transplant recipients, whose kidney failure stemmed from ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), have less risk of disease recurrence but a higher risk of dying with a functioning transplant,  a recent study suggests. These patients also had a higher risk of dying from complications due to immunosuppression and infection. The study,…

The antibody rituximab is a good alternative to cyclophosphamide for inducing remission in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), and is better than azathioprine as a maintenance therapy, researchers reported. These were among the findings from a recent review study that investigated the relative benefits and risks associated with different…

“You’re only as old as you feel,” as the saying goes. Unfortunately, since being diagnosed in 2001 with granulomatosis with polyangiitis at age 19, I’ve always felt older than I actually am. My first experience with that feeling was at diagnosis. The doctor who diagnosed me after a five-day…