Recent News
Current recommendations are that obesity management is an integral component of gout treatment and that, in parallel, gout awareness is an important component in the treatment of the metabolic syndrome.Read Article
EBR Journal Club: Obexelimab in IgG4-Related Disease (INDIGO)
The EBR Journal Club Companion applies my adapted version of the JAMA approach to critical appraisal to an important RCT in rheumatology. Each review covers four domains: Does this apply to my patients? What is the risk of bias? How great are the benefits and harms? And what didn’t they show me? This edition: INDIGO (obexelimab in IgG4-related disease).
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Obesity and Rheumatic Disease
Presented as part of RheumNow's "The Obesity Imperative" campaign.
https://t.co/d2fl4EJX8Q https://t.co/DpihLZz5Ch
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
QD Clinic: GLP-1s and History of Thyroid Cancer?
Daric Mueller, PA-C, St. Clair Shores, MI, presents this case as part of RheumNow's "The Obesity Imperative" campaign, presented in September 2026.
https://t.co/uob8RlMV14 https://t.co/f42gB0IXl1
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Early RA Referral Clinics Work!
An outcomes study from the Leiden Early Arthritis Clinic (EAC) has shown substantially less diagnostic delay and better long-term outcomes when patients are referred to EAC compared to usual referrals.
https://t.co/6vGd0S0V1W https://t.co/2ATEMRhtMM
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
ACR Updates Osteoarthritis Guidance
ACR
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has released updated clinical guidance for the treatment and management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, hip, and hand. The evidence-based recommendations update the 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline and are designed to support individualized, shared decision-making between patients and clinicians.
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Review of HLA-B27
HLA-B27 remains the dominant genetic link to spondyloarthritis (SpA) across the age spectrum, but B27 related clinical expression diverges between children and adults. New mechanistic data on autoreactive T cells, HLA-B27 misfolding, and gut-joint trafficking point to new plausible, targetable pathways.
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QD Clinic: Bariatric Surgery "Curing" Arthritis?
Dr. Richard Conway, Dublin, presents this QD Clinic as part of RheumNow's "The Obesity Imperative" campaign, presented in September 2026.
https://t.co/M6nKr9EShU https://t.co/6JX5bCYzfo
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Obesity Journal Club: Tuesday Nite Rheumatology
The Obesity Journal Club explores the TOGETHER PsA and STEP 9 trials and what emerging evidence tells us about the relationship between obesity, weight loss, and rheumatic disease. Panelists discussed the results of these trials, https://t.co/3C1RLyRj0b
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Discussing Weight Loss: 3 Minute Script
Dr. Jack Cush's 3 Minute Script as discussed in his Introducing Weight Loss video.
https://t.co/JRWAPc5if5 https://t.co/NUpxPT4bdo
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Indian study of 85 #RA pts in LDA or better (DAS28-ESR ≤ 3.2). W/ 6 mos F/U, 39 (46%) had 1+ RA flare (DAS28 > 3.2); time to flare 12 wks (8–18) unrelate to Dz activity. Predictors: seropositivity (HR 2-2.3) https://t.co/ifqeoPtxpx https://t.co/ltx64X55fd
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Data presented at 2027 ASMBS meeting showed betw 2020-2024, wt loss surgeries dropped 23%, from 230,000 in 2022 to 177,000 in 2024. Less than 1% of eligible pts are now having weight-loss surgery https://t.co/UnYIIBDdnz https://t.co/FuwnOuBUeY
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Added IVIG is Effective in Myositis
A small randomized controlled trial demonstrates that intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) added to cortocosteroids lead to greater and faster improvements in patients with newly diagnosed idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs).
Weight Loss Improves Psoriatic Disease Substantially!
Even before the introduction of incretin therapy and bariatric surgery, many randomized and interventional studies (2019–2026) have consistently showed that weight loss produces clinically meaningful, dose-dependent https://t.co/BWeW7fzSC8
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
A Day of Infamy (9.11.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on Rheumnow - including obesity, disappointing durability with GLP-1 drugs, AI diagnoses and worries about CV risk in ANCA-associated vasculitis.
https://t.co/gzaqNz3i5k https://t.co/c8ShScutqC
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Metanalysis 11 studies & 104277 gout & hyperuricemic pts shows erectile dysfunction is signif. increased (RR1.37; 1.14-1.65) related to lower testosterone & estradiol. Other factors: obesity, age, DM, CVD. https://t.co/1ufih2E3UN https://t.co/NgQuHt4vR1
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Congratulations to Professor Christopher Goodnow, BVSc, MBBS, PhD (from UNSW Sydney) as he is the recipient of the German Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for 2027 base on his work in autoimmunity! https://t.co/uvfYfXTrh3 https://t.co/FgyOzTI8lb
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Single center study of FALLs in 124 ambulatory RA females ≥50 yrs.(age 68 yrs, DAS28 2.6, sarcopenia 16%, prior fall 25%). 27.4% had falls; predicted by prior fall hx (OR 2.76, hypnotics/anxiolytics (3.92), not steroids or sarcopenia (NS trend) https://t.co/J62RPF9rQs https://t.co/OKxdPl5Oev
Links:
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Chinese 52 wk study of XKH004, a novel, SC, humanized anti-17A/F in 323 active AS pts Rx q4 wks vs PBO. @ Wk 16, XKH004 was superior for ASAS40 (45.4% vs 19.4%; P<0.001), improved to 66% by wk 52. https://t.co/f7w41m4QZy https://t.co/5MPm388kau
Links:
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
In 2022, Overweight & obesity affect 65.8% of Swiss PsA pts (vs gen pop.= 43%) and has increased since 2007. Obesity was assoc w/ elevated CRP (56% vs 37%), Inc Pt global assess (3.2 vs 2.8), & MD global (2.5 vs 2.1) & lower EQ-5D-3L(0.7 vs 0.8). https://t.co/xPoy4dgvlD https://t.co/aeB5N6LgCd
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Video
From the Blog
A few years ago, when I would see a patient with rheumatic disease and increased BMI, I would often document it as obesity as a comorbidity, recommend weight loss and exercise, and then move on. My approach has changed.
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Podcasts
Obesity QD Clinics Part One
Obesity & Inflammation: Understanding the Impact on Rheumatic Disease
A Day of Infamy (9.11.2026)-
Obesity Journal Club
Therapeutic Updates
The Four Pillars of Weight Loss
RheumNow
Watch our 'Four Pillars of Weight Loss' series as part of this month's The Obesity Imperative campaign. Videos include: 'What are the four pillars of obesity management?' and 'Building A Multidisciplinary Program for Obesity and Arthritis Management'.
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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.
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Poster Hall
Sponsored by AbbVie Medical Affairs + Health Impact
GCA Flares With a JAKi in the Second Year of SELECT-GCA
Daily Gem
Losing 5–10% of body weight can improve PASI as much as some systemic therapies.
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