Large- and small-vessel vasculitis: a critical digest of the 2010-2011 literature

The last two years have been marked by significant achievement in the identification of the basic mechanisms of systemic vasculitis and in the translation of these mechanisms into targeted therapies. More specifically, new insights into the environmental, cellular, and genetic factors involved in the pathogenesis of systemic vasculitis have been provided. Consequently, several studies focused on the development of novel strategies to achieve and maintain clinical remission in small- and large-vessel vascultis, including relevant large multicentre trials, have been promoted. The highlights of these studies, their potential clinical implications and the unmet needs, which are still to be addressed, are summarised in this review.