The Long, Blurry Days Leading Up to My Diagnosis

I was in a hospital room, dazed and confused. A doctor had sent me there after a chaotic trip to the emergency room. The first nurse to treat me said I had a hemoglobin level of 3.8 deciliters. My resting heart rate was 140 beats per minute, and when I…

Adding plasma exchange to immune-suppressing treatment does not significantly improve clinical outcomes in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a new meta-analysis indicates. The analysis, “The role of plasma exchange in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis: a meta-analysis,” was published in Clinical Rheumatology. AAV is characterized by…

My long journey began in Virginia in 2001 at 18. I was in college at the time, and two friends and I decided to go on a trip during a three-day weekend in the spring. We stayed at my friend’s house, and I remember very clearly getting a pain in…

High blood levels of FCRL5 — a protein mainly found in certain B-cells, a type of immune cell — are linked with a greater likelihood of achieving and maintaining a complete response to rituximab in people with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA),…

Exagen, a life sciences company developing tests for the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of autoimmune conditions, has launched a new test for the rapid diagnosis of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). Named AVISE Vasculitis AAV, the test measures for a panel of biomarkers, each of which helps determine the…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review ChemoCentryx‘s application requesting the approval of avacopan to treat ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), the company announced in a press release. The agency expects to announce its decision regarding approval on or before July 7, 2021.

The 20S-proteasome — the core of an enzyme complex responsible for eliminating unnecessary or damaged proteins in cells — may be a useful biomarker of disease activity in people with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a study shows. The study, “Serum 20S proteasome levels are associated with…

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) carries high healthcare costs for therapies and hospitalizations to treat the disease itself and related infections, a study in Italy has found. The study, “Healthcare and economic burden of ANCA-associated vasculitis in Italy: an integrated analysis from clinical and administrative databases,” was published…

Muscle biopsies could be used to diagnose ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a new study indicates. The finding suggests that such biopsies are most informative in females or in people with certain inflammation-related conditions. The study, “Muscle biopsy in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody–associated vasculitis: diagnostic yield depends on anti-neutrophil…

The presence or absence of ANCA antibodies appears to influence which organs are affected by eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), a rarer subtype of ANCA-associated vasculitis, a recent review of studies suggests. While EGPA patients carrying these antibodies will more likely develop nervous, renal, and skin manifestations…