Recent News

  • Double Trouble (10.23.2026)

    Jack Cush, MD
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    Dr. Jack Cush reviews the journal articles and regulatory announcements from this past week on RheumNow, including: two crystals in one joint, twice the cryptococcus risk in JAKs; Myositis and Scleroderma; and Sjögren’s plus early damage = >> 2 fold risk lymphoma. Double trouble week on the RheumNow podcast.
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Takayasu Arteritis: Do TNFis or IL-6- inhibitors come out on top?

Brian Jaros, MD

The treatment of active Takayasu Arteritis (TAK) is imperative to quiet vascular inflammation and subsequently maintain vascular integrity while preventing vessel damage. Our upfront management of TAK, beyond glucocorticoids and conventional DMARDs, remains limited to two primary mechanistic categories: tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) and the IL-6 inhibitor tocilizumab (toci).

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150 #Gout pts (56 yrs old; 33wks F/U; 21% drank EtOH, 29% obese, 5% MASLD) on allopurinol followed w/ labs. 30y (20%) had incr AST/ALT (87% mild, none severe). Allopurinol was cont 18/10 without change in AST/ALT. Allopurinol was not the primary cause of LFT elevation https://t.co/XOkUtbdRIK
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Monogenic Inflammatory Disorders Go Unrecognized Lancet Rheumatology published a large cohort analysis using a genome-first approach with whole-exome sequencing, finding a prevalence of 1 in 4026 (159/640092) for monogenic disorders, half with inflammatory features. Only one https://t.co/bItqMXIoUH
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Treat-to-Target has Excellent 10-Year Outcomes in RA Most patients with RA whose initial treatment used a stringent treat-to-target strategy in a clinical trial were in remission 10 years later, with only modest radiographic progression over that time, researchers said. https://t.co/aWQgQAsoSI
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(about vaccines….) “If you don’t fear the problem you won’t value the solution” -Dr. William Schaeffer
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Should You Use Low Dose Naltrexone? A recent review of 105 studies and 15 randomized controlled trials of LDN found that, across a range of disorders (chronic pain, autoimmune and neuroimmune disorders, gastrointestinal disease, dermatological conditions, post-infectious https://t.co/sC7kteQVMZ
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Cryptococcus is rare, but twice as likely with JAK inhibitors. Retrospective TriNetX analysis of RA pts (>30k/grp) starting JAKi vs TNFi; JAKi vs non-TNFi; & TNFi vs non-TNF. Crypto seen in <0.2% in all groups; but signif higher HR for JAKi (HR 2.2 & 2.15) https://t.co/1J4SjcqF8u
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REVEAL study enrolled 418 early microscopic polyangiitis pts - High baseline (Pre-Rx) neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR > 10) was assoc w/ signif higer Dz activity (BVAS), alveolar hemorrhage, poor renal function, reduced survival & higher infection-related mortality (P = https://t.co/wYBOz00GGB
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Treat-to-Target has Excellent 10-Year Outcomes in RA Most patients with RA whose initial treatment used a stringent treat-to-target strategy in a clinical trial were in remission 10 years later, with only modest radiographic progression over that time, researchers said. https://t.co/sFI67Wo2fK
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Monogenic Inflammatory Disorders Go Unrecognized Lancet Rheumatology published a large cohort analysis using a genome-first approach with whole-exome sequencing, finding a prevalence of 1 in 4026 (159/640092) for monogenic disorders, half with inflammatory features. Only one https://t.co/4v1PP41rii
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Joint Disease in SLE Reconsidered A new Frontiers in Immunology review from Ong, Wincup and colleagues, shows that lupus arthropathy is not a single uniform entity and it is biologically under-studied and clinically mismeasured, Moreover, the biology of lupus arthritis may https://t.co/M5m6TMZr3x
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Using Global Burden of Disease study data, an economic evaluation of 204 countries & territories, osteoarthritis & Alzheimers/dementias had highest health burden, but largest economic losses observed for combinations involving osteoarthritis, particularly osteoarthritis and https://t.co/0JgRgJAWy7
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
150 #Gout pts (56 yrs old; 33wks F/U; 21% drank EtOH, 29% obese, 5% MASLD) on allopurinol followed w/ labs. 30y (20%) had incr AST/ALT (87% mild, none severe). Allopurinol was cont 18/10 without change in AST/ALT. Allopurinol was not the primary cause of LFT elevation https://t.co/nBCACpvr5W

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From the Blog

rheumthought

Treatment for Obesity and Inflammation, but at what Cost?

Jonathan Kay, MD
Kay RT cover still

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. 

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Podcasts

  • Double Trouble (10.23.2026)
  • Troubles with ‘Gut Feelings’
  • Don’t Hold the JAK (10.9.2026)
  • PsA Beyond the Joints: Rheum, Derm, and Gastro Perspectives
Ask Cush Anything

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Therapeutic Updates

Clinical dilemmas in axSpA and PsA

Sponsored by UCB
UCB October RX Update
Explore some of the challenges rheumatologists face in clinical practice, including expert perspectives from UCB's Annual International Immunology Summit.
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PsA Beyond the Joints: Rheum, Derm, and Gastro Perspectives

Sponsored by AbbVie Medical Affairs + Health Impact
AbbVie October RX Update
Dr. Saakshi Khattri hosts dermatologist Dr. Ahmad Amin and gastroenterologist Dr. Joshua Steinberg to discuss multidisciplinary care in PsA and other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Learn how signals in the skin and gut may prompt the need for collaboration across specialties to support better patient outcomes that extend beyond the joints.
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Obesity – Inflammation – PsA

Sponsored by Lilly Medical Affairs
Lilly October
Learn about the inflammatory intersection between Psoriatic Arthritis and Obesity, and why adiposity is more than a comorbidity.
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