News

CAD and cryoglobulinemia often co-exist, report suggests

Among people with cold agglutinin disease (CAD), more than half were found to have a related autoimmune disorder called cryoglobulinemia, which affected symptom presentation but did not appear to affect survival. That’s according to a small study in which 59% of CAD patients tested positive for cryoglobulins, the…

BioCryst eyes oral treatment candidate for CAD by 2025

BioCryst is working to develop a new oral therapy for cold agglutinin disease (CAD) that suppresses the immune complement cascade, and expects to have a lead candidate selected by 2025. This and other drug development plans were shared recently by the biotech company in a “R&D Day”…

SARS-CoV-2 virus may have induced toddler’s severe AIHA

A 2-year-old, healthy girl developed a severe, mixed form of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) as a result of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, a case study reports. While AIHA — a group of rare autoimmune conditions that include cold agglutinin disease (CAD) — secondary to COVID-19…

Pre-treatments helped limit complications of CAD during surgery

In people with cold agglutinin disease (CAD), pre-treatment with rituximab and plasma exchange may help limit complications during surgeries where the patient’s body temperature is decreased, a new report illustrates. The case study, “Total arch replacement for an aortic arch aneurysm with cold agglutinin disease after…

Man’s CAD likely a complication of ICI cancer therapies

In rare cases, cold agglutinin disease (CAD) may develop as a delayed complication of a combination of immune-activating cancer therapies called immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), according to a case report. While some cases of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) — a group of autoimmune disorders that include CAD secondary to…

COVID-19 complicated blood cancer-associated CAD

Diagnosis and treatment of cold agglutinin disease (CAD) secondary to a type of blood cancer was complicated by COVID-19 in a middle-aged man, a case study reports. The researchers identified specific mutations in immune cells that may explain the “treatment resistance and susceptibility to COVID-19,” they wrote in the…

Rare case of CAD secondary to lupus reported in young woman

A young woman in Colombia developed cold agglutinin disease (CAD) secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease often called lupus, a study reports. While other types of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) — rare autoimmune diseases marked by self-reactive antibodies attacking and destroying red blood cells —…