FDA Approves Rituxan for Children and Adolescents with GPA, MPA

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…

Almost half of patients diagnosed with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) showed neurological symptoms in a single-site, retrospective study from India. But while nervous system involvement appears to be more common than thought, it does not affect long-term survival, its researchers said. The study, “Neurological Manifestations Do not Affect Cumulative Survival…

Lesions in the lungs caused by ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) are variable among patients, but lung ultrasound appears to be as good as computed tomography (CT) scans at detecting them, a study found. The study, “Utility of lung ultrasound in ANCA-associated vasculitis with lung involvement,” was published…

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients with renal involvement have higher blood levels of certain small vesicles than either patients without kidney symptoms or people without this disease, a study found. These microparticles, which are positive for the myeloperoxidase (MPO) protein and carry the complement proteins C3a and C5a — central…

Different autoimmune pathways — which determine how autoantibodies affect the body — might be involved in cases of lupus nephritis that are positive for ANCAs, leading to unusual kidney symptoms, a case report suggests. The study “Clinico-pathological considerations in a 48-years-old female with acute kidney injury: is…