Rituxan Can in Rare Cases Lead to Very Low Platelet Levels in ANCA Vasculitis Patients, Study Says

Patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis might develop acute thrombocytopenia — extremely low levels of platelets circulating in the blood — after being treated with Rituxan (rituximab), a case study from Japan reported for a first time. While rare, physicians should be aware of this potential side effect so as to detect…

Patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) have a higher prevalence of thyroid disease than the general population, a single-center retrospective analysis shows. But the increase in thyroid disease is not related to the use of anti-thyroid medications, researchers said. The study, “Increased Prevalence of Thyroid Disease in…

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) may manifest as as a painful, progressive skin rash, and be associated with secondary cryoglobulinemia — a condition where abnormal proteins in the blood clump together at low temperatures — a new case report shows. While rare, it is critical that these conditions are recognized…

Chest manifestations and disease activity at diagnosis may help predict the risk of  infections during hospital stays in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), a retrospective study suggests. The South Korean study, “Birmingham vasculitis activity and chest manifestation at diagnosis can predict hospitalised infection in ANCA-associated vasculitis,”…

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) may sometimes manifest as facial paralysis and ear pain — a potentially challenging diagnosis, according to the case report of a teenage patient. The study, “Granulomatosis with polyangiitis presenting as facial nerve palsy in a teenager,” appeared in the International Journal of Pediatric…

Classifying the specificity of ANCA autoantibodies may complement the currently used clinical classification system when predicting the course of disease and prognosis in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients with renal involvement, according to Spanish researchers. Indeed, ANCA specificity was seen to be better at predicting relapse than clinical classification.

Patients with ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis receiving immunosuppressive therapy are not more likely to develop cancer than the general population, a study found. However, researchers did find that the risk for blood, post-transplant, and nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC) is higher among these patients. Findings were reported in the study,…

Genetic sequencing and the speed with which it can help diagnose a child’s disease — in addition to revealing the genes that cause at least half of the 7,000 rare diseases currently known — was the focus of a discussion by three top New York geneticists. The Feb. 28 conference,…

Diverse clinical manifestations in patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis can delay diagnosis and treatment, leading to high mortality rates, a study reports. These findings highlight the importance of early diagnosis for improving survival. The study, “Granulomatosis with polyangiitis: clinical course and outcome…

When it comes to rare diseases, one that definitely makes the list is spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress — SMARD, for short. Hunter Pageau, a 12-year-old boy from North Haven, Connecticut, is one of only 80 people in the world known to have SMARD, a motor neuron disease…