Recent News
Read ArticleDr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on Rheumnow.com - including obesity, disappointing durability with GLP-1 drugs, AI diagnoses and worries about CV risk in ANCA-associated vasculitis. And take this week's RheumIQ quiz! (Video transcription available here).
Bariatric Surgery in the Era of GLP-1RA
Weight loss with lifestyle changes alone is difficult to sustain for most people. One reason for this is the weight loss associated endocrine milieu, which can decrease energy expenditure and increase the drive to eat. Therefore, we frequently use medications and/or bariatric surgery.
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Together PsA 52 wk data (n 271): ACR50 plus >10% wt loss - 39.2% w/ Taltz & Zepbound vs 1.7% w/ Taltz alone. Together PsO trial results (n 274): PASI100 plus >10% wt loss - 30.6% w/ Taltz & Zepbound vs 4.4% w/ Taltz alone. https://t.co/27TBZyL8l1 https://t.co/VdQJALdoJt
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Waist size matters! Using NHANES data (1999-2018) the weight-adjusted waist index (WWI) calculated on 5582 CKD pts. WWI was signif assoc w/ all-cause mortality (adj HR 1.17) & CV (1.24); these assoc partially mediated by NLR (inflammation) ~6.6%, showing both central adiposity https://t.co/kNf4nqiD2a
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
🔎 Take a look at the long-term safety of a JAKi in patients with rheumatic disease in clinical trial and real-world settings
Explore the outcomes across >21,000 patient-years: https://t.co/WBe2gSDeeO
Sponsored by AbbVie Medical Affairs + Health Impact. https://t.co/LBRGLtbjJk
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
True or False: A meta-analysis of hidradenitis suppurativa patients showed IL-17 inhibitors significantly increased IBD risk compared to placebo.
See if you got it right in this week's RheumIQ quiz at https://t.co/UaXqHKWizt.
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Obesity isn’t just a comorbidity—it can influence inflammation, disease activity, and treatment response.
Join our second Tuesday Night Rheumatology webinar this month as leading experts explore the biology of fat and its impact on rheumatic disease.
Register: https://t.co/OIQUZqANEP
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Sobi Receives US FDA Fast Track Designation for pacritinib in VEXAS Syndrome. Pacritinib (Vonjo) is a kinase inhibitor (JAK2, FLT3) that is approved to treat adults with intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis https://t.co/V7duJPyJpG https://t.co/Dn5DgeaX7N
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
RheumIQ: In axial spondyloarthritis, obesity reduces TNF inhibitor responses by how much?
Test your knowledge at https://t.co/UaXqHKWizt.
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Osteoarthritis, Obesity and GLP-1s
https://t.co/SGnWksQBpT https://t.co/ILP3weScxh
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Leeds study of 44 patients idiopathic inflamm myopathy (IIM) pts Rx w/ rituximab showed a 70% response 4-6 mos post RTX. Responders had higher TIS (50·0 vs 17·5). Using highly sensitive flow cytometry, @ 2 wks responders had lower #s memory B cells & Plasmablasts. Is there a role https://t.co/JDvVZ1KEIY
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Music and Pain Relief
A new scoping review in Pain Reports by Bradt et al., examines the effect of MBIs on pain management. While its efficacy is well established, how or why music relieves pain has never been fully explained. This systematic review is based on 663 records and https://t.co/0FJgzWSoOB
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
EBR Journal Club: Dapirolizumab Pegol in SLE (PHOENYCS GO)
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 https://t.co/Pi45T99oJm
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
True or False: In a Leeds study of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy patients treated with rituximab, responders had lower memory B cells and plasmablasts at 2 weeks.
See if you got it right in this week's RheumIQ quiz at https://t.co/UaXqHKWizt. https://t.co/zRJOMeLn8M
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Obesity isn’t just a comorbidity—it can influence inflammation, disease activity, and treatment response.
Join our second Tuesday Night Rheumatology webinar this month as leading experts explore the biology of fat and its impact on rheumatic disease.
Register: https://t.co/0EqO9g1sHn
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
QD Clinic: Weight Loss Changed the Course of RA
Dr. Bella Mehta, New York, presents this case which highlights that obesity may be a target for disease modification in rheumatoid arthritis, as part of RheumNow's "The Obesity Imperative" campaign, presented in September 2026. https://t.co/KNNS0cHmA4
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
AI Diagnosing Rheumatic Disease?
Prof. Valmed, a large language model (LLM) cleared by European regulators for medical diagnosis, outperformed human physicians for diagnosing rheumatologic conditions in terms of speed but not accuracy, a randomized trial showed. https://t.co/WVKlRGHFL1
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Dutch single center study of ANCA tests (n 5518) betw 2012-2023; 286 (5.2%) were positive: 63% did not have AAV. ANCA+ Non-AAV pts had other CTD, neoplasia, infxn, or used specific drugs. IIF and ELISA 1st test - good negative predictive values. Performing a second test increased https://t.co/0oAhOg10VL
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
The 1980s quietly rewired rheumatology.
Methotrexate became the anchor DMARD.
APS emerged as a distinct clinical syndrome.
SLE classification was standardized.
Cytokine biology began pointing toward the biologic era.
A decade that moved rheumatology from symptom control toward https://t.co/9NUXorQDTG
Aravind Palraj @Rheumat_Aravind ( View Tweet)
Dr John Stone grand rounds Kroc lecture #wustlRheum.
Pearls:
-IgG4RD can manifest as a variable vasculitis
-Men have worse disease
-Histology will not show necrosis or neutrophils
-IgG4 levels will rise as the disease progress (>5X)
-Rx with B cell therapy
@alhkim @RheumNow https://t.co/GUw348OrrA
TheDaoIndex @KDAO2011 ( View Tweet)
Video
From the Blog
Dr. Al Kim, St. Louis, discusses the effects of obesity on lupus activity, organ damage, complement levels and mTor activation.
Podcasts
A Day of Infamy (9.11.2026)
Obesity Journal Club-
Treating Obesity is Disease-Modifying (9.4.2026)
A Day in the Life of a Rheumatology APP: A Focus on Interstitial Lung Disease” (hosted by Amanda Mixon, PA-C)
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: Introducing Weight Loss and Pharmacologic Treatment of Obesity.
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
Long-Term Safety of a JAKi in Clinical Trial and Real-World Settings Across >21,000 Patient-Years
Rheumnow Survey
Have you ever prescribed a weight loss drug (e.g., tirzepatide, semaglutide) for your arthritis patient?
Daily Gem
Obese RA patients are less likely to reach remission on biologics
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