A Phase 3 clinical trial showed a new medication that interferes with part of the immune system that causes inflammation was more effective than treatment with glucocorticoids (“steroids” such as prednisone) in keeping patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis, a disease that causes the destructions of the body’s small blood vessels, in remission for a year. The researchers behind the trial believe that a treatment approach that avoids the use of prednisone might significantly reduce many side effects patients experience. These results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine today.