Bacterial Infections, Especially in Lungs, Common in AAV Patients in Southern China, Study Reports

Infection is a common complication of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) that tends to develop within six months of diagnosis, and in cases of  “mixed” infections — those caused by more than one type of bacteria, or by bacteria and fungi — can take a major toll on survival, a study…

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) with childhood onset often affects multiple organs, showing symptoms at diagnosis in the ear, nose, and throat, as well as pulmonary and renal complications, a single-center study shows. Also, researchers found, rituximab appears to be effective at inducing and maintaining remission in pediatric AAV patients.

Adding methylprednisolone pulse therapy to standard induction therapy does not appear to have any particular benefit for people with severe ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) who need dialysis, a study suggests. The study, “The effect of pulse methylprednisolone induction therapy in Chinese patients with dialysis-dependent MPO-ANCA associated…

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) are much more likely to develop a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma — nearly 13 times more likely — than those without this disease, a population-based study from Sweden reports. Other cancers, especially bladder and pancreatic cancer, were also more frequent…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Rituxan (rituximab), in combination with glucocorticoids, for the treatment of children ages two or older with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) or microscopic polyangiitis (MPA). GPA and MPA are the two subtypes of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), an…

A low-dose glucocorticoid regimen, in which intravenous methylprednisolone (a type of steroid) is not routinely used, can be used to effectively treat ANCA-associated vasculitis in elderly patients, a new study shows. The study, “Long-term outcomes in elderly patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis,” was published in the journal Rheumatology.

Next month’s annual conference of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) in Washington, D.C., couldn’t come at a better time, says Marshall Summar, MD, chairman of NORD’s board of directors. “The pace of discovery in rare diseases has gone from brisk to hypersonic,” Summar told Bionews Services, publisher…

Patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) treated with immunosuppressive agents have a higher risk of developing infectious complications, including pneumonia, sepsis, and fungal infection, a new study shows. The study, “Relationship Between Immunosuppressive Therapy and the Development of Infectious Complications Among Patients with Anti-neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-associated Vasculitis: A Single-center,…

In granulomatosis with polyangiits (GPA) patients, the levels of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCAs) — the autoantibodies associated with the condition — appear to correlate with worse disease activity, a study has found. However, ANCAs remain high in many patients who enter clinical remission, suggesting that disease management cannot…

People with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) are at a greater risk of venous thromboembolism — blood clots in veins — if they have evidence of bleeding into the lungs, heart involvement, red blood cells in their urine, or anti-PR3-ANCA autoantibodies, according to a study in patients of a Phase…