Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibodies (ANCA): New Tools in the Diagnosis and Follow-Up of Necrotizing Glomerulonephritis and Vasculitis

Vasculitis refers to an inflammatory process affecting blood vessels. It may represent a manifestation of disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis or mixed cryoglobulinemia, or constitutes the major and primary hallmark of a number of clinical syndromes (1–7). Within the spectrum of vasculitis the latter group of the so-called idiopathic systemic vasculitides is a pathogenetically poorly understood group of diseases that can be classified according to the size of the vessels involved (6,7) (Table 1).