Difficulties in Diagnosing ANCA Vasculitis in Young Patient Detailed in Case Report

AAV Patients in Japan on Low Daily Prednisone Doses as Maintenance Therapy Seen as More Likely to Relapse

Low daily doses of oral prednisone — 2.5 mg/day or less — during long-term remission maintenance therapy was associated with a higher rate of relapse in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) in Japan, a study reports. The study, “Risk Factors for Relapse of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-associated Vasculitis in…

A Case of Blood Vessel Inflammation Going from ANCA Antibody-negative to Positive

Some blood vessel inflammation cases stem from a group of diseases collectively known as ANCA-associated vasculitis, while others don’t. Chinese scientists have discovered a first: a non-ANCA-associated vasculitis case that turned into an ANCA-associated one. Doctors call an ANCA-associated case an ANCA-positive case, and a non-associated case an ANCA-negative case. At…

Questionnaire Created to Assess Patient-reported Impact of AAV on Quality of Life

Researchers developed a new questionnaire that assesses a patient’s perspective on how anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, or AAV, impacts health-related quality of life. While the questionnaire should be shorter and validity testing is needed, this patient-reported measure has already helped clinicians understand which health-related outcomes matter most to…

Rare Inflammatory Disorder of Brain Meninges Linked to MPO-positive AAV

A rare case of inflammatory disease affecting the protective membrane of the central nervous system was linked to anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO) autoantibodies in a case report. The Japanese study, “A case of suspected MPO-ANCA-related hypertrophic pachymeningitis with atypical presentation,” was published in the Journal of Family and…