Recent News
Read ArticleDr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal articles and missed quiz questions.
True or False: After successfully treating herpes zoster, it is considered safe to restart anti-TNF therapy without a significant risk of recurrence. See if you got it right in this week's RheumIQ quiz at https://t.co/DX0qT1iNF2 https://t.co/pGggdVPhmh
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Cross-sectional study of 339 IBD pts (64% women, median 42yrs (32–53) found osteopenia by BMD in 34%, OP in 12%. Predictors not identified by multivariable analysis. Rheum eval led to OP Rx in 7% & vitamin D in 45% https://t.co/a9RSo9PxHS https://t.co/nIOR9AUjQs
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Retrospective Intl SSc study of MD & PT telangiectasia counts (TC) (0, 1–6, 7–15 or > 15) of face, forearms & hands. High TC correlated w/ PAH (AUC 0.824–0.875) & digital ulcers. Moderate agreement betw MD & Pt for face & forearms TC (kappa 0.648 & 0.605, p< 0.001) https://t.co/k7tVeJFeCi
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In the cross-sectional study of US SLE patients, what was the most common drug class driving polypharmacy beyond SLE medications? Test your knowledge in this week's RheumIQ quiz at https://t.co/DX0qT1iNF2 https://t.co/ox4rGp04WH
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EGPA https://t.co/zlquehIZQ6
Rheumatology update @aabdogafar ( View Tweet)
FDA has approved that guselkumab (Tremfya) for the inhibition of progression of structural joint damage in adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) https://t.co/KwcECQpSz1 https://t.co/pSoK930FAX
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LRA Awards for Immune Resetting Therapies in Lupus
LRA, the world’s largest private funder of lupus research, in collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced the inaugural recipients of the Lupus Research Alliance-Genentech Award on Immune Resetting https://t.co/eDAq17lhM0
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Veterans Administration study of 301 #RA pts Rx w/ immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) for cancer shows all cause mortality in ICI Rx Cancer pts was no worse when RA pts took ICIs (1.09; 0.94–1.25). Cause of death similar; Infx were rare (<1.0%) https://t.co/3ZYujU5nyE https://t.co/MCDcdWHcVx
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Review of Ruxolitinib in 7 pts w/ refractory systemic JIA complicated by macrophage activation (MAS) (ages 1.6-11 yrs; 3M: 4F). 5 achieved complete remission; 2 partial remission. 2 relapsed w/ GC tapering (remission after adding canakinumab). No deaths https://t.co/j4Cm3UYB9c https://t.co/YIupsBank5
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Adverse drug events (ADEs) studied in autoimmune rheum Dz (ARDs). In 10,578 ARD pts 30% had 1+ ADE, highest in SSc (36%). Polypharmacy (57.3% minor, 39.4% major) contrib to increasing ADEs. ADEs were more from Sx Rx (antacids, Tylenol, psychotropics) than DMARDs. https://t.co/BOAfU1DyIN
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Increased Polypharmacy in SLE Patients
A cross-sectional study of US adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) shows significantly increased prevalence of polypharmacy, related to age, disease outcomes and often, non-SLE common medications.
Integrating D2T into T2T Practices in RA
EurekAlert!
Researchers at Semmelweis University analyzed how depression, smoking, obesity, sleep disorders, and other health problems are linked to difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis (D2T-RA) and how this can inform treat-to-target (T2T) and individualized therapy.
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Korean claims data on FX in RA (2010-2017; n = 43,677). RA had more FX (aHR 1.68), regardless of b/tsDMARD use. Seropositive had more Fx (aHR 1.19), Vertebral Fx (aHR 1.4) & hip Fx (aHR 1.55) VS seronegative RA https://t.co/5Fm3o841H7 https://t.co/V0L87JYtba
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Hopkins study of HCQ in discoid lupus (DLE) - 5 yr outcomes of 106 adult DLE; those on HCQ had less hyperlipidemia (HL), PAD, angina, & CAD. Parallel TriNetX study showed HCQ assoc w/ signif less HTN, HL, DM, CAD, & CVA. https://t.co/yX7FkGCnvR https://t.co/oddq68FYeE
Links:
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WSJ: Nurse Practitioner Is Now the Hottest Job in Healthcare
The Wall St. Journal has published a perspective on nurse practitioners (NP) and their very promising careers.
https://t.co/YUasxB43ZO https://t.co/tkvKh0JEui
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Join the global rheumatology community following RheumNow at #EULAR2026
✔️ Trusted faculty voices
✔️ Fast, curated insights
✔️ Clinically relevant takeaways
This is where rheumatology meets real-world practice. https://t.co/Hb88ZCP58P
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RepurpSS-II: Hydroxychloroquine plus Leflunomide in Sjögren's
A small pilot, phase 2b trial has shown that the combination of leflunomide and hydroxychloroquine (LEF+HCQ) was effective and safe in treating patients with active Sjögren's disease.
https://t.co/tyd1efUtca https://t.co/zcY7RyX8SZ
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Trends and Innovations in Lupus Nephritis Clinical Trials
Xu et al. from Shanghai University have written an analysis of global lupus nephritis (LN) clinical trials and call for innovation.
This systematic review of was informed by 200 interventional pharmacological trials https://t.co/fUTIMhMAis
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Cross-sectional study of 339 IBD pts (64% women, median 42yrs (32–53) found osteopenia by BMD in 34%, OP in 12%. Predictors not identified by multivariable analysis. Rheum eval led to OP Rx in 7% & vitamin D in 45% https://t.co/CNs7hb9KX8 https://t.co/aoesaW1pKw
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
From the Blog
Podcasts
Count Your Telangiectasias (5.29.2026)-
Quiz Talk (5.22.2026)
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Infectious Rheumatology (5.15.2026)
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Influential Rheumatoid Factors(5/8/2026)
Therapeutic Updates
Expert insights on the 2024 ACR Guideline recommendations for lupus nephritis
Sponsored by Aurinia
Two experts in lupus care offer a balanced perspective on applying the updated ACR Guideline recommendations and the clinical nuances of managing lupus nephritis.
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Poster Hall
Sponsored by AbbVie Medical Affairs + Health Impact
