The past five years have been busier than usual for the Churg-Strauss syndrome. It was renamed eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA).1 Longitudinal cohorts totaling 484 patients—approximately as many as all previous series combined—were described.2,3 A proposal was advanced to remove and rename a subset in which vasculitis may not be present.4 And shortly after the… [Read More]
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) was first described in the British Medical Journal in 1897 by Scottish otolaryngologist Peter McBride.1 GPA is a relatively rare, systemic necrotizing vasculitis that can make diagnosis challenging. The incidence has been estimated anywhere between two and 12 cases per million.2 GPA mainly affects adults between the ages of 45 and… [Read More]
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Long-term rituximab use lowers the chance of relapse of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV), compared with standard maintenance therapy, according to a report from the MAINRITSAN3 randomized trial. “Physicians should consider AAV to be a long-lasting, chronic disease which requires maintenance therapy,” says Dr. Pierre Charles of Cochin Hospital, Paris… [Read More]
SNOWMASS VILLAGE, COLO.—The study of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV) is ongoing, and research results should help improve treatment for this patient population. Key trials and therapeutic options were discussed at the 2020 ACR Winter Symposium during the session, Update on the Treatment of ANCA-Associated Vasculitis, by Peter A. Merkel, MD, MPH, chief of… [Read More]
ATLANTA—New drug approvals, new and expanded drug indications, and important safety and other updates relevant for rheumatologists were presented by three physicians from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on Nov. 11 at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting. New JAK Inhibitor Approved for RA On Aug. 16, 2019, the FDA approved upadacitinib (Rinvoq), an… [Read More]
Last year, the FDA was busy with new biologic and other drug approvals, new and expanded drug indications, and important safety updates relevant to rheumatology…... [Read More]
Rituximab-abbs, which is biosimilar to rituximab, is now available in the U.S. to treat specific cancers…... [Read More]
Intravenous rituximab can now be used to treat pediatric patients with GPA and MPA as young as two years old…... [Read More]
MADRID—During the 2019 European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR), held June 12–15, speakers addressed the complexity of vasculitis in a Challenges in Clinical Practice session titled, How to Maintain Remission in Vasculitis. Although vasculitis appears in many varieties, one commonality exists among these related yet distinct conditions: When there is vital organ or systemic involvement, disease… [Read More]
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) associated polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is an increasingly rare vasculitis in developed countries due to advances in HBV vaccination and antiviral therapy. However, the condition does persist, and rheumatologists should consider it when evaluating vasculitis cases. Below, we discuss a case that illustrates the varied clinical presentations PAN can encompass. A high… [Read More]