Recent News
There is no doubt it is an incredibly exciting time to be tackling obesity-related diseases, like many rheumatic diseases appear to be, to some extent. However, deep down, a part of us must dread adding yet another conversation to a crowded consultation. One of two things has to happen: we either outsource, or get more efficient. Ideally we can do a bit of both.Read Article
Supervised Physiotherapy Wins after ACL Repair
The Annals of Internal Medicine has shown that chronic knee symptoms following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) surgery is significantly lessened by a program of physiotherapist-supervised exercise therapy with education compared to single education and self-directed exercise.
Read Article
Link Between Obesity and Psoriatic Arthritis
Obesity is an incidental comorbidity in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). It is a modifiable, mechanistically active driver of disease onset, severity, and treatment failure. A new comprehensive review in RMD Open (Madsen et al., 2026) synthesizes 49 studies suggesting that weight management belongs in the core PsA treatment algorithm.
Read Article
Obesity as a Risk Factor for Rheumatic Diseases
https://t.co/zTEHDbTGjb https://t.co/1JuGAfL5oK
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
The Need for Weight Loss and Weight Gain in the ILD Clinic
https://t.co/UaKW9GPJTN https://t.co/QGYblSxbfP
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Beyond Disease Modification: Palliative Care in Rheumatology
Palliative care is often mistakenly equated to hospice and end of life care. While this is an important subset of the field, it does not capture its broader impacts and tenets.
https://t.co/VcP1x1nKqp https://t.co/DnkdsmgG1x
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Metanalysis of Metabolic syndrome (MetS) in #SLE (65 articles, 11K pts). MetS prevalence 27% (higher in males (36 vs 27%). HCQ assoc w/ signif less MetS (OR 0.66), but more w/ CTX (1.39), AZA (1.25), MMF (1.13), but not steroids or MTX. MetS pts were older, obese, w/ high Chol & https://t.co/qSXZkyYTmZ
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
The weight is off, the DMARDs are off - now what?
That promised land of substantive weight loss comes within it the illusion of better disease control and, for inflammatory arthritis patients, the possibility of reducing the burden of regular medicines - often driven by the patient, with or without telling you. It is a dream worth aspiring to and, as we’ve discussed this month, one which is increasingly achievable, albeit still for a small minority of patients. So for those who do reach that
Read Article
Prednisone Primer for Patients
The Washington Post published a patient overview on "what Prednisone does to your body".
Read Article
Retrospective study from India on 157 juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) pts - 44 (28%) had calcinosis. They had a long Dx delay (12 mos), were NXP2+ in 41%, & high risk for Lipodystrophy (39% vs 5%). 39% improved while 61% had static/progressive Dz https://t.co/z5gvqzZV6C https://t.co/9WlzPDZ74w
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Lifestyle and Incretin Therapy Advice for Rheumatologists
As GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists become standard co-management tools for obese patients with RA, PsA, axSpA, and gout, this JAMA Insights perspective by Kushner, et al. reframes lifestyle counseling as an adjunct to https://t.co/9dfmKLuJF7
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
BMJ reports TriNetX EHR study showing GLP-1 RA use in knee OA pts was assoc w/ significantly lower cumulative TKA incidence (p<0.001). 1 year any GLP-1 RA (HR 0.90) or 3 yrs exposure (HR 0.72) signif lowered TKA 8 yrs later https://t.co/RGQJJHgLFv https://t.co/BoSgFoOyNN
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
52 VEXAS pts Rx w/ IL‐1i, IL‐6i, or JAKi therapy judged as compl Resp (CR), partial (PR), Failure (TF). @ 6mos: 3/19 IL‐6i had CR, 4/19 PR, 7/19 TF. JAKi had 2/17 CR, 3/17 PR, 6/17 TF. No CR w/ IL‐1i or TNFαi, only 1/5 IL‐1i patients experienced PR. Only IL‐6i & JAKi had https://t.co/wqogmfeAru
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Systematic review of 21 papers (23K RA pts) finds 12% w/ difficult-to-treat RA. Risk factors -- smoking (OR 1·16), obesity (1·38), FM (2·20) & depression (1·74). No assoc w/ current smoking or anxiety. https://t.co/BHxyEbSg8Y
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Upadacitinib is now approved in European Union to treat active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) ages > 2yrs for those not responding to 1+ DMARDs. In the USA, UPA is approved for pJIA & juvenile PsA https://t.co/Vhx717rw5T https://t.co/OBMdjsegIq
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Mediterranean Diet Lowers Incident Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has published the results of the SUN Project study, showing that long-term adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) was associated with a substantially lower risk of incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but not psoriasis.
Read Article
Cluster analysis of Spanish RELES #SLE SLE cohort reveals 3 groups. C1 (n 168) was younger, w/ lupus nephritis, low C3, intensive Rx, high infx & damage. C2 (175) w/ cytopenias, serositis, APL & dsDNA(+). C3 (452) mild skin-Jts, less serologic activity & complications https://t.co/OYTXD4KV6O
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Long-term F/U of T2T Artic trial. 230 DMARD naive pts, 84% ACPA+ 179 (82%) in 10 yr F/U & 82% were in DAS < 1.6 remission 10 yrs later w/ only 17% w/ Xray progression. ~50% on csDMARDs, 30% on bDMARDs. Early aggressive works! https://t.co/ASRrIZqfS5 https://t.co/SykEI4QjPa
Links:
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Residual steroids doesnt preserve remission. Japan FRANK #RA registry 411/3,863 were in Boolean remission - 130 on GC vs 231 non-GC (1/3 on b/tsDMARDs). Roughly 1/3 flared to LDA @12 mos. Outcomes same for GC vs non-GC Rx pts. https://t.co/xPctEjFCLT https://t.co/YIHFaQkzeO
Links:
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
RHEUM Survey>> Should rheumatologists run dedicated obesity clinics? Answer here>> https://t.co/O1DEKQLnYg
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Video
From the Blog
The costs of GLP-1 agonists must come down in order to make these treatments available to the people who need them - including many people with rheumatologic diseases.
Podcasts
DERM on RheumNow PODCAST (September 2026)
Tuesday Night Rheumatology: More than the Meds
The Four Pillars of Weight Loss Part 3
Rheumatology Pay Up (9.25.2026)
Therapeutic Updates
The Four Pillars of Weight Loss
RheumNow
Watch our 'Four Pillars of Weight Loss' 7-part series as part of this month's The Obesity Imperative campaign.
Read Post
Label update: Structural damage progression in active PsA
Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Medical Affairs
Listen to Dr. Catherine Bakewell’s review of clinical data from a recent label update.
Read Post
Poster Hall
Sponsored by AbbVie Medical Affairs + Health Impact
A JAKi After Primary or Secondary TNFi Nonresponse in RA (SELECT-SWITCH)
Daily Gem
Measure success by what patients gain, not only by what they lose.
--