The things we don’t say: Why vasculitis patients might stay silent

We all have things we don’t talk about with our doctors. The reasons are endless. Sometimes we feel rushed and don’t think there’s enough time to share everything. Sometimes we’re unsure whether what we’re experiencing is even relevant. Other times, it just feels too personal, too private, or too painful…

Updated treatment guidelines from the British Society for Rheumatology favor rituximab over cyclophosphamide for active, relapsing ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), and set a standard maintenance treatment period of about 2-4 years after the disease has entered remission, or is determined to be well controlled. These recommendations are part of…

The selective immunosuppressive medication abatacept failed to significantly prevent treatment failure relative to a placebo in people with relapsing, non-severe granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) taking part in a Phase 3 clinical trial, new data show. In addition to failing to meet this main goal of the study — called…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Fasenra (benralizumab). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Are you on Instagram? I’ll admit it — my wife and I can’t stop watching those silly little dances. Our favorite?…

Up to two years of treatment with AstraZeneca’s Fasenra (benralizumab) helped adults with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) that’s difficult to treat achieve and maintain disease remission, while reducing or eliminating the need for oral corticosteroids. That’s according to combined data from the completed head-to-head portion and the…

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) therapy Tavneos (avacopan) is at least as effective as the glucocorticoid prednisone at inducing disease remission, reducing relapse rates, and improving kidney function and quality of life in patients with kidney involvement at treatment start. That’s according to new subgroup analyses from the Phase…

No one teaches you how to be sick. There is no handbook for how to gracefully give up what you once perceived as power over your life and body in order to find peace with a chronic disease like ANCA vasculitis. The world does not reward people who need…

Facial palsy, or weakness of the facial muscles, is associated with a nearly 10 times higher risk of hearing loss with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), a type of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), a single-center study suggests. Older age, along with ear or eye involvement, were also significant risk factors for…

Treatments for ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) have improved over time, but many patients still develop permanent organ damage, even though the extent of it has been less severe in recent years, a study in Turkey suggests. Mortality rates have remained largely similar over the years, with death more likely among…

Immune neutrophils and the weblike structures they release to trap and kill microbes — called neutrophil extracellular traps, or NETs — are key players in driving kidney damage in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and other diseases, a review study found. This points to neutrophils and NETs as potential targets for…