Vasculitis and Giant Cell Arteritis News

Genentech announced the launch of a new trial, GiACTA, of its interleukin-6 inhibitor as a “steroid-sparing agent” in patients with giant cell arteritis at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology.

Infections in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis are a cause of mortality and are associated with leukopenia, increased age and high doses of certain medications, according to study data presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology.

New genetic variants and polymorphisms were identified using next-generation sequencing in patients with autoinflammatory diseases, according to study findings presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology.

The Vasculitis Foundation has announced it is accepting proposals from researchers for grants of up to $100,000 for 2 years, according to a press release.

Padlock Therapeutics announced it has entered into an agreement with GSK to license a collection of assets and intellectual property from GSK intended to develop treatments for autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis.

Low levels of thiopurine S-methyltransferase may be predictive of adverse events caused by azathioprine toxicity in patients with Behçet’s disease, according to study findings.

Recorded solar cycles correlated with the onset of giant cell arteritis and rheumatoid arthritis with consistent lag times, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University and the Mayo Clinic.

Relapses in patients with giant cell arteritis are common, may occur during treatment and commonly used serum markers of inflammation may appear at normal values during relapse, according to recently published research.

The detection of antiproteinase 3 or antimyeloperoxidase antibodies in serum antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies without positive cytoplasmic or perinuclear patterns detected with immunofluorescence is inconsistent and may be of limited use in the diagnosis of vasculitis, according to researchers.

Fatigue was reported by 98% of patients with autoimmune disorders polled, and fatigue that prevented completion of everyday tasks was reported by 68% of the patients, according to a press release from the American Autoimmune Disease Related Diseases Association.