SANDY NYE | VF Patient Hero 2022

Microscopic Polyangiitis (MPA) • 2014

"Be positive; Advocate for your care; Connect with other Vasculitis patients; Practice Mindfulness; Laugh; Ask questions; Keep a medical journal; Remember your medication; Join and/or donate to the Vasculitis Foundation; Smile"

ANN MARIE NIZIOLEK | VF Patient Hero 2022

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) • 2015

"God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow or sunshine without rain. But He did promise strength for the day and light for the way."

Florida Kidney Physicians Glomerulonephritis Center of Excellence Now Accepting Patients

Marc Richards, MD Vasculitis patients are complex. Different forms of the disease may share similar symptoms and treatment courses; however, each disease is distinct. This requires dedicated specialists who will go the extra mile, working cohesively for their patients. The specialists at the Florida Kidney Physicians Glomerulonephritis Center of Excellence in Boca Raton provide comprehensive […]

KAI AUSTIN | VF Patient Hero 2022

Granulomatosis withpolyangiitis (GPA) • 2016

"Your best is yet to come."

University of Michigan’s Vasculitis Program: Hoping to Impact Individual Patients and the Approach to the Diseases

Julia Ford, MD (left) and Ora Singer, MD, MS  The University of Michigan (U-M) Vasculitis Program began in September 2021 with a soft launch. “We started simply by instituting a dedicated vasculitis clinic and have been moving forward step by step,” said Ora Singer, MD, MS, Director of U-M’s Vasculitis Program. Both Dr. Singer and […]

MICHAEL AGATHIS | VF Patient Hero 2022

Granulomatosis withpolyangiitis (GPA) • 2013

"Strength comes from true belief and faith in God and the strength to live from my wife and daughters."

Many Outstanding Questions Still Exist for Vasculitis Patients: The Massachusetts General Hospital Rheumatology Vasculitis Program Hopes to Find Some of the Answers

Zachary Wallace, MD, MSc (left) and Sebastian Unizony, MD Vasculitis tends to present in a systemic manner, often affecting multiple organ systems. Clinicians should consider a broad differential (possible conditions that share the same symptoms) and think about the entire person—not just at the time of diagnosis but throughout their life as they face periods […]

SPENCER ABLEMAN | VF Patient Hero 2022

Microscopic Polyangiitis (MPA) • 2021

"For every dark night, there's a brighter day."

— Tupac Shakur

KIMBERLY BOISSONNEAULT | VF Patient Hero 2022

Behçet’s Disease • 2020

“Courage isn’t having the strength togo on­ — it is going on when you don’thave the strength.”

— Napoleon Bonaparte

VF Applauds Ashton Kutcher

The Vasculitis Foundation (VF) applauds Ashton Kutcher for publicly sharing his experience and diagnosis of vasculitis. By sharing his story Ashton is raising much-needed awareness of these rare and serious diseases which affect people of all ages. The VF is pleased that Ashton Kutcher is doing well and bravely speaks about his symptoms with vasculitis.

Meet Dr. Adam Mayer: Fellow Physician in Adult and Pediatric Rheumatology at UPenn

Adam Mayer, MD, discovered his love for rheumatology in his first year of residency after having several meaningful and exciting patient cases with systemic rheumatic diseases. He has always wanted to care for the most complex and critically ill patients and vasculitis was a natural interest. Dr. Mayer began his four-year fellowship at the University […]

BRANDON HUDGINS | 2022 Patient Hero

Granulomatosis withpolyangiitis (GPA) • 2008

"The only true form of help is self-help. You have to be willing to do the work to get help. If you don’t make that decision you’ll never get the help you need."

MITCHELL HOROWITZ | VF Patient Hero 2022

Granulomatosis withpolyangiitis (GPA) • 2021

“You gather the best information youcan, then make the best decision you can, based on that information. Then don’t look back, you can’t change anything.”

— Mitch Horowitz

Introducing Our 2020-2021 VCRC-VF Fellow: Kinanah Yaseen, MD

Kinanah Yaseen, MD, was awarded the 2020 Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC)-Vasculitis Foundation (VF) Fellowship. She is currently a junior faculty member in the Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases at Cleveland Clinic. Her interests involve all forms of vasculitis, especially small vessel vasculitis including granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, […]

Introducing Our 2022-2023 VCRC-VF Fellow: Mohanad M. Elfishawi, MBBCh, MS

Mohanad M. Elfishawi, MBBCh, MS, began his one-year Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC)-Vasculitis Foundation (VF) Fellowship on January 1, 2022. Dr. Elfishawi will be working on several projects in giant cell arteritis (GCA) including investigating metabolic risk factors for GCA. In addition, he plans to study aortic involvement in patients with GCA and the risk of […]

Physician with GPA Continues Medical Career Despite Facing Obstacles and Discrimination

By Gary Salzman, MD (Edited by Nina Silberstein) A diagnosis of vasculitis changed my life, but I didn’t let it ruin it. Today, I’m a 69-year-old retired physician living in Scottsdale, Arizona, who mainly practiced Geriatric Medicine, but I was also certified in Internal Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Care. I’m married but due to […]

UNC’s Multidisciplinary Vasculitis and Connective Tissue Disease Clinic Offers Patients Team-Oriented Approach to Care

Autoimmune diseases are complicated conditions that can impact many organ systems in a patient. Typical models of care with providers spread out in different offices can lead to delays in diagnosis and slow down treatment options, while confusing patients as to who is making the decisions. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s […]

Twin Siblings Specializing in Vasculitis Are Working Together at KUMC

Kelly Liang, MD, and her twin sister, Kimberly Liang, MD, both joined the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) in December 2021. Kelly is currently Associate Professor of Medicine in KUMC’s Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, and Kimberly is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Allergy, Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. The doctors hope […]

Co-Directors of Vanderbilt’s Vasculitis Clinic say it’s Critical to Have a Multidisciplinary Approach to Care

As we have come to understand that vasculitis can affect literally any organ system, the focus at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s (VUMC’s) Vasculitis Clinic from the beginning has been on forging relationships with clinical collaborators from all specialties. They come from a variety of disciplines and have been called upon to help evaluate and manage […]

Rheumatology Fellow’s Current Research Offers Improved Guidance to Women with Vasculitis in all Areas of Reproduction

For women of reproductive age, having a family is a natural inclination, and one that brings great joy to them and their families. While complications can occur during pregnancy in women with vasculitis, there is little comprehensive, prospective data on the topic. Fortunately, current research offers improved guidance to these women in all areas of […]

2019 VCRC/VF Fellow Joins UPMC as Vasculitis Center Director

Note: Sebastian Sattui, MD, MS, completed his Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium-Vasculitis Foundation (VCRC-VF) fellowship at the end of June 2021. Dr. Sattui was at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City for four years and during the first two years, he focused on his general rheumatology training. The last two years, he concentrated […]

Introducing Our 2020-2021 VCRC-VF Fellow: Alvise Berti, MD

Dr. Berti began his work in vasculitis while he was a medical student at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, Italy. At the time, Dr. Berti recognized that vasculitis was not very well understood, and being both curious and motivated to further explore this group of diseases, he realized that he wanted to become a […]

First Pediatric Rheumatologist Awarded 2021 VCRC-VF Fellowship

Jessica Bloom, MD, MSCS, has been awarded the 2021 Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC)-Vasculitis Foundation (VF) Fellowship. Dr. Bloom is currently an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado- Denver, Attending Physician in Pediatric Rheumatology at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, and the first pediatric rheumatologist in the VCRC-VF Fellowship program. Her primary […]

PAN Patient Raises Vasculitis Awareness Through Flash Mob Dances in Washington State

In light of the symptoms and treatment options, a diagnosis of vasculitis can actually be a positive, life-changing experience for some patients. After 26-year-old Jessica Kent was diagnosed with polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) in 2015, she discovered a passion for working in healthcare and a greater appreciation of life. She learned to appreciate the little things […]

The Final Answer

July 27 Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.  As an intern, I combed through the electronic medical record each day, hoping to find the pathology reports for my patient, Grace (NB: name has been changed to protect privacy). Grace was a middle-aged woman who had presented to the hospital with a myriad of complaints. During my initial assessment, […]

Medical Education is a Core Value at UCSF’s Vasculitis Clinic

The uncommon or rare nature of vasculitis can unfortunately lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment. This is an important reason why ongoing medical education is essential. As more physicians learn about these diseases, better care can be provided for patients with vasculitis. Educating future rheumatologists and internists is a top priority at the University […]

Pinochle Night Brings Friends Together During Pandemic

By Fran Crotty My 85 year old mother splits her time between living at her Florida condo in the cool months and her Long Island, New York condo in the warm months. When in Florida, she plays in several bridge games each week. My brothers and sister have always been competitive in sports. I thought […]

A Family’s Personal Journey Through Vasculitis

In life we often find that while not every story has a happy ending, we can learn from others’ experiences and hold on to hope. In the context of the vasculitis journey, we can hope for an early diagnosis, better treatments, advanced research and, ultimately, raise awareness. This is the story of Javier M. Diaz, […]

VF Board of Directors Welcomes Caz Cazanov

In March 2019 we published a story about Caz Cazanov and her personal experience with vasculitis. After being diagnosed with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) in 2017, Caz was treated with high-dose steroids and cyclophosphamide infusions, and spent three weeks in the hospital and in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation facility. She tapered off prednisone about a […]

New Vasculitis Program Opens at the Medical College of Wisconsin

Until now there were no vasculitis centers in Wisconsin. Many vasculitis patients there had to travel long distances to places such as Chicago, Illinois, or to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to find a specialist with a focus on vasculitis research and clinical care in their practice. To address this need, rheumatologist Michael Putman, […]

Fran Crotty’s Morning Routine: Prepare Inner Self to Create a Positive Start for the day

In April 2020, the VF ran an article about Fran Crotty, who was diagnosed in 1996 with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and Crohn’s disease. Fran has managed to stay in remission for almost two decades and in the April article, she describes how faith and positivity have fueled her personal transformation. You can read it […]

Stanford’s Vasculitis Clinic Expanding Access to Care in Northern and Central California

Early in her medical training, Audra Horomanski, MD, saw several healthy young adults’ lives turned upside down by life-threatening vasculitis—and then saw the dramatic difference that could be made with appropriate treatment. Later in rheumatology training, she met many patients who had long delays in diagnosis because their symptoms came on slowly or they lived […]

Columbia University Irving Medical Center Creating Dedicated Vasculitis Center

Daniel DeMizio, MD, developed a passion for treating vasculitis early on in his career. He was taking care of a critically ill patient with vasculitis during the first month of his fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Hospital when he recognized that this family of diseases encompassed all that had initially drawn him to rheumatology. “Affecting nearly […]