Osteoarthritis

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Americans choose short term relief for neck and back pain

EurekAlert!

New survey data from the Orlando Health Spine Center reveals a significant difference among Americans on how to manage neck and back pain. Respondents were split between relying on rest and reduced activity (44%), turning to over-the-counter pain

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1 in 5 Patients are Unaware of their Arthritis Diagnosis

Jack Cush, MD

Current CDC numbers suggest that arthritis (any type) affects an estimated 67.1 million (27.9% ) adults in the USA.  Interestingly, 1 in 5 do not know their arthritis subtype (21.6%, 14.4 million).

This most recent analysis of the prevalence and distribution of arthritis subtypes

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Genicular nerve block (GNB) is effective intervention for Knee OA. Metanalysis of 6 RCTs & 420 KOA pts. GNB significantly reduced pain & improved function (p<0.003), w/ significant relief as early as 2wks and function by 12 weeks. https://t.co/wC2dPvVR7x https://t.co/HCFSXBfVGM

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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Hmmm Really? (7.11.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week - some obvious, other new thoughts and some - hmmm, reallly?

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Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH)is a structural cause of dysphagia due to anterior cervical osteophytes. Retrospective study 208 dysphagia pts w/ head/neck CT. DISH was Dx in 39%; predicted by low serum albumin, COPD, & chronic pain https://t.co/zrn4dnCtLc https://t.co/svE6khmUEm

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Genicular nerve block (GNB) is effective intervention for Knee OA. Metanalysis of 6 RCTs & 420 KOA pts. GNB significantly reduced pain & improved function (p<0.003), w/ significant relief as early as 2wks and function by 12 weeks. https://t.co/NMtiQPICpw https://t.co/gVJ0TyuY01

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Weed, THC

ICYMI: ACP: Best Practice Advice on Cannabis or Cannabinoids Use for Chronic Noncancer Pain

Jack Cush, MD

The American College of Physicians published a best practice advisory on cannabis or cannabinoids in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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PCR: Prevalence, Cost, & Risk (6.27.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from last week on RheumNow.com

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Global burden of dz study - UN statistics show post-Menopausal women (PMW) are 20% of all women in 2021 (vs 13.7% 1990). From 1990 to 2021, the prevalence of MSK Dz in PMW significantly risen, especially for RA, OA, and gout. https://t.co/HdkopkxLdv https://t.co/wsGhg0P1tL

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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Simple Measures are Effective in Knee Osteoarthritis

EurekAlert!

Knee braces, water therapy and exercise are the most promising non-drug therapies for treating knee osteoarthritis, according to a new meta-analysis publishing June 18, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Yuan Luo of the First People’s Hospital of Neijiang, China.

Knee

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Reviewing Three Osteoarthritis Studies Dr. Janet Pope discusses abstracts POS0492, abstract POS0565, and abstract POS0612 presented at the EULAR 2025 meeting in Barcelona, Spain. https://t.co/0qub4ITnxa https://t.co/uguzPSnvCR

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Intraarticular IL-1Ra Gene Therapy in Knee Osteoarthritis In a dose-escalation trial in nine participants, they observed that a single intra-articular injection of the gene product led to an increase in IL-1Ra in the synovial fluid that remained elevated for up to a year. There https://t.co/YDuUg44ebu
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Presenteeism and absenteeism in RA aren’t just about joints. In this UK study, comorbid anxiety, depression, and OA drove lost productivity. Treating RA is not enough —holistic management matters. POS0403 @RheumNow #EULAR2025

Jiha Lee @JihaRheum( View Tweet )

The relation between RA, comorbidities and presenteism NRAS survey 891 RA pts 75% had at least one comorbidity Absenteeism more likely if One OR = 1.68 or Two OR = 2.26 comorbid conditions In particular Anxiety OR = 2.39 Depression OR = 1.75 Osteoarthritis OR = 1.85 Back

Aurelie Najm @AurelieRheumo( View Tweet )

What do we do when we see Rx signed of CPPD in RA pts? Do these pts have different trajectory? Rx Retro study 388 patients RA 18% at least one sign CPPD ns diff between seeonegative and seropositive pts RA+CPPD group was -older -higher comorbidity score -more likely to be https://t.co/DaW5DZoDzF

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Aurelie Najm @AurelieRheumo( View Tweet )
Targets for OA pain pharmacotherapies some by the wayside: - NGF - TrkA but some very much in play and exciting: - neurotrophin-3 - TRPV1 - Nav1.7, 1.8 Fiona Watt #EULAR2025 @RheumNow https://t.co/DXDKNnVRRo

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David Liew @drdavidliew( View Tweet )
LEVI-04 (neutrophin-3 inhibitor presented as #ACR24 late-breaker in knee OA) more good efficacy data, no rapidly progressive OA safety signal. For us clinicians: impressive impact size, esp relative to alternatives. Finally, something that works?? #EULAR2025 OP0374 @RheumNow https://t.co/iVdlwyaqrv

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David Liew @drdavidliew( View Tweet )
Intraarticular IL-1Ra Gene Therapy in Knee Osteoarthritis In a dose-escalation trial in nine participants, they observed that a single intra-articular injection of the gene product led to an increase in IL-1Ra in the synovial fluid that remained elevated for up to a year. There https://t.co/qi0qHPd06j
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
🦵🏼💉LOSEIT study: liraglutide led to slight↑ in medial joint space width in knee OA vs placebo (0.22 vs 0.07 mm), but difference not statistically significant (p=0.17). More potent GLP-1RAs may be needed for greater improvement in structural knee OA @RheumNow #EULAR2025 #OP0223

Mrinalini Dey @DrMiniDey( View Tweet )

▶️Erosive hand OA 🔺Gull-wing erosion @ DIPJs ✅ 🔺Saw-tooth erosions @ PIPJs ✅ #OA #Osteoarthritis #EULAR2025 https://t.co/5Hh4Ki9P8V

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Dr Gurdeep S Dulay @gurdeep_dulay( View Tweet )
Pain & age predict outcomes in #osteoarthritis In a #cohort of 92 pts with #knee #OA Factors were studied for response Better ✅#NSAIDs or #acetaminophen v #opiates ✅Older ✅Lower #WOMAC PAIN & no sensitization 🤔help RCT inclusion #EULAR2025 @RheumNow POS0612 @eular_org https://t.co/9I2JN9sgUe

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Janet Pope @Janetbirdope( View Tweet )
Repurposing drugs to #osteoarthritis No jewel in the rough! Most drugs - MTX, colchicine, TNFi, IL1i, etc are NEGATIVE or yield mixed results from diff #RCTs Not sure this is the way forward for #OA drug discovery 💡 #EULAR2025 @RheumNow @eular_org Abst#POS565 https://t.co/A6SdXtOo7v

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Janet Pope @Janetbirdope( View Tweet )
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Intraarticular IL-1Ra Gene Therapy in Knee Osteoarthritis

Jack Cush, MD

De la Vega et al. have published in Science Translational Medicine the efficacy of an IL-1Ra gene therapy in adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

In a dose-escalation trial in nine participants, they observed that a single intra-articular injection of the gene

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MTX Fails Knee OA (6.6.2025) Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow. https://t.co/4FapDWtTIf https://t.co/lYoTXX9IEb

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Methotrexate Fails in Knee Osteoarthritis We'll be blunt: methotrexate flopped in a randomized placebo-controlled trial among patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. https://t.co/Y9elFXTkhN https://t.co/rs8wP7A1bv

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Recent Blogs

Best of 2023: PMR: glad or bad tidings?

Sarah Mackie, MRCP, PhD
Smile feedback opinion yes no good back opinion
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. Read Post

PMR: glad or bad tidings?

Sarah Mackie, MRCP, PhD
Smile feedback opinion yes no good back opinion
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. Read Post
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