Increased Levels of Soluble ST2 in Patients with Active Newly Diagnosed ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

Increased Levels of Soluble ST2 in Patients with Active Newly Diagnosed ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

OBJECTIVE ST2, a member of the interleukin-1 receptor family, is selectively expressed on Th2 cells and mediates important Th2 functions. IL-33 is a specific ligand of ST2. The aim of the study was to determine whether serum levels of soluble ST2 (sST2) or IL-33 predict activity of the disease in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitides (AAV). METHODS 139 AAV patients and 62 controls were s...

Smoking habits in patients diagnosed with ANCA associated small vessel vasculitis.

OBJECTIVES To study the prevalence of smoking at onset of symptoms in patients with small vessel vasculitis associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA). METHODS A retrospective study, in 197 patients with ANCA associated vasculitis, of the history of cigarette smoking at onset of symptoms. Prevalence of smoking in patients with ANCA associated vasculitis was compared with age...

Diagnosing ANCA-associated vasculitis in ANCA positive patients

Currently no validated diagnostic system for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is available. Therefore, diagnosing AAV is often challenging. We aimed to identify factors that lead to a clinical diagnosis AAV in ANCA positive patients in a teaching hospital in The Netherlands.In this study, all patients that tested positive for ANCA proteinase 3 (PR3) and/or ...

is serum vitamin d levels associated with disability in patients with newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis?

background: although the precise etiology of multiple sclerosis (ms) is unknown, it seems that both genetic and environmental factors are important. recent studies suggest that low serum vitamin d levels are important environmental factor in ms. the aim of this study was to compare the serum levels of vitamin d between ms patients and healthy subjects, and to determine its association with disa...

Increased Serum Levels of Soluble B7-H4 in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus