Remission – Believe it or Not (10.2.2026)
Dr, Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com
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Remission — believe it or not. What’s happening in rheumatology this week? Dr. Jack Cush breaks down the latest news and journal reports on RheumNow:
10-year T2T data: 82% in remission
Residual steroids don’t preserve remission
Biologics linked to lower PsA risk
GLP-1s + knee OA https://t.co/2Zf9g1Wehg
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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 https://t.co/8HWmkmIexr
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Study of 119 Rheum pts on GLP-1 Rx (65% T2DM, 35% obesity; mean BMI 35). @ 12 mos wt loss −7.7 kg & 56% improved ≥1 BMI category. Signif decr in A1c, FBS, lipids, LDL, TG, ESR & CRP. GLP-1RAs useful cardiometabolic benefits https://t.co/fdNtvGu8Vb~ https://t.co/vM3Ukr9XUF
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
The Friday RheumNow podcast has dropped! In this week's episode, "Rheumatology Pay Up," Dr. Jack Cush covers:
• Rheumatology physician pay rose 10.4% year-over-year
• New data on colchicine and tofacitinib in knee OA
• What a new study tells us about earlier axSpA diagnosis https://t.co/oXsNruWnc2
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Rheumatology Pay Up (9.25.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com.
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Gabapentin Use Rose as Restrictions Fell, Study Shows
MedPage Today
Gabapentin use jumped quickly in Michigan after the drug was removed from the state's controlled substance schedule in 2024, a cross-sectional study showed.
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Single center, DBRPCT of tofacitinib 11 mg/d vs PBO in 100 knee OA pts (KL Gr 1-2); At wk 12 there was NO significant differences betw groups in VAS Pain, or other outcomes-WOMAC, Oxford Knee Score, EQ-5D-5L, analgesic use https://t.co/VDtgY7hTm4 https://t.co/PveouQbI8r
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
CLOAK study: 3 mos DBRPCT of Colchicine vs PBO (no NSAID) in 120 symptomatic KOA (KL gr 2/3) shows no benefit in VAS pain index knee after 3 mos. (but COL pts had signif change in some biomarkers hsCRP, β-NGF (p < 0.05); PGE2, IL-1ra, IL-8, and VEGF (p < 0.16). https://t.co/MPgLpr7LPP
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Early RA Referral Clinics Work (9.18.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com
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4,197 pts from the UK Biobank met fibromyalgia criteria, yet 72.6% had NOT received a diagnosis. Non-Dx assoc w/ male, older age, milder sxs or other pain Dx (OA, CRPS, CFS), lower polysymptomatic distress scores, and less frequent fatigue. https://t.co/Y9m9jR5wbR https://t.co/fitm675kyK
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Obesity management goes far beyond the number on the scale.
Watch our Four Pillars of Weight Loss video series, part of this month’s The Obesity Imperative campaign.
What Are the Four Pillars of Obesity Management?
Building a Multidisciplinary Program for Obesity & Arthritis https://t.co/16v4JFVWWs
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,
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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 improvement in both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
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A Day of Infamy (9.11.2026)
Dr. 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
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Why does obesity worsen Rheumatic disease?
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Osteoarthritis, Obesity and GLP-1s
We all know that osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in the world, and that obesity is its most modifiable risk factor. What I really want to focus on is the role that GLP-! receptor agonists might be playing in our management of osteoarthritis. So why does this matter?
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In the JAMA review of shoulder pain, what is the recommended first-line treatment for most shoulder diagnoses?
Test your knowledge in this week's RheumIQ at https://t.co/TBlB4pmnKa https://t.co/mKClL2P0Tc
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
JAMA: Review of Shoulder Pain
JAMA Internal Medicine (Haas et al, 2026) has published a clinical overview to the approach, diagnosis and management of Shoulder Pain.
https://t.co/xYSahFksx9 https://t.co/kTIml2mD6k
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Joint Pain Prevalence is not Declining
A current report from the national NHIS survey shows that over half of US adults diagnosed with arthritis reported moderate to severe joint pain.
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JAMA: Review of Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain affects 16% of adults annually and is the third most common musculoskeletal presentation in primary care. This new review reframes the diagnostic and therapeutic approach, moving away from pathoanatomic labels (rotator cuff tendinopathy, impingement, bursitis) toward the umbrella
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Evaluating Inflammatory Joint Pain in Older Adults
Lee, Levinson, and Makris have published an approach to evaluating inflammatory joint pain in older adults in JAMA Internal Medicine. While intended to be a practical guide for Primary Care Clinicians (PCCs), the tenets and https://t.co/TPKEOjkcKl
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
2026 BSR Pain Guideline: What Rheumatologists Need to Know
The British Society for Rheumatology has issued its first guideline dedicated solely to pain in inflammatory arthritis (IA)—covering RA, PsA, axial SpA and JIA.
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Mentshlichkeit* (8.7.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and recent journal reports on RheumNow.com.
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JAMA Review of Hip Fracture
The July 16th edition of JAMA reviews the highly prevalent problem of hip fractures - a major global health burden: 14.2 million occur worldwide annually (280,000 in the US), with global incidence higher in women (833.9/100,000) than men (510.0/100,000). Lifetime risk at age 50 is 22.9% for
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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.
Please don’t tell your patient that PMR “typically” lasts two years. According to real-world data from the UK, one in four patients with PMR is prescribed steroids by their primary care physician for over four years. But nobody tells them this at the start, and that causes big problems later on.
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Please don’t tell your patient that PMR “typically” lasts two years. According to real-world data from the UK, one in four patients with PMR is prescribed steroids by their primary care physician for over four years. But nobody tells them this at the start, and that causes big problems later on.
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Podcasts
ACR 2025 Daily Podcasts Day2c
