Recent News
RA confers a 50–100% excess risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) compared with the general population, with adjusted hazard/odds ratios ranging from 1.3–2.2 across large cohort studies (Vojinovic, Askling, Antovic; Rheumatology, 2026).Read Article
Misdiagnosis of Still's Disease
High fever, strange rashes, scary labs often lead to a consideration of Still's disease (AOSD or systemic JIA). Yet the dramatic onset of a systemic disorder may overlap with another, and possibly as rare, systemic disorder that should not be misdiagnosed or mistreated. A current case review by Zhu et al. presents six cases initially diagnosed as systemic JIA, teaching several important lessons.
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Italian SPRING cohort of #SSc pts found only 5.3% (of 1689 pts) without the typical scleroderma pattern on nailfold change by NVC. They had milder dz, with less vascular dz (pitting scars 33 vs 48%), telangiectasias (52 vs 74%), calcinosis 3.4 vs 12%) & higher DLCOs at 12, 24, https://t.co/AoNAhVYfII
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Retrospective Medicare comparison 450 paired #PMR cohorts Rx w/ IL-6 inhib or csDMARDs. At 1 yr, IL-6i pts (vs csDMARD) had signif more GC D/C (adj HR 1.28) or minimal GC use (<3mg/d) (aHR 1.28). Hosp. infxn 2X higher in IL-6i (12.2 vs 5.7 per 100 PY) in year 1, but not year 2 https://t.co/YgqLjD9nvM
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Prolonged exposure to targeted Rx in #SpA not assoc w/ increased cancer risk. French claims study 56,591 SpA pts- 1,224 CA (1,029 solid, 116 Heme). TNFi, IL17i, IL12/23i, IL23i, JAKi Exposure >6 vs ≤6 mos assoc w/ lower CA (HR 0.86; 0.75-0.99); signif for Heme (HR 0.65), not https://t.co/rHAa0CkAjT
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How do rheumatologists & radiologists team up to tackle autoimmune ILD?
Hear from Drs. Elizabeth Volkmann & Robert Suh, and patient mentor Carolyn, on the diagnosis, monitoring & patient journey. Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. https://t.co/zrpMBDqWdg https://t.co/sc8OfpPoR6
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EU Finalizes Tavneos Withdrawal - The European Commission has officially revoked the marketing authorization for Tavneos (avacopan), finalizing a process that began with regulators flagging the drug's pivotal trial data as "incorrect and misleading." The EC issued its legally https://t.co/jgysiV1hyX
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QD Clinic: A Watched Tophus Never Resolves
Dr. Jack Cush discusses his plan to medically manage multiple large volume tophi and a patient who has recently started urate lowering therapy with febuxostat.
https://t.co/swfyYEeW0s https://t.co/wyLlcHR4Td
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Rheum Survey >> What therapy do you most commonly use to treat Sjogrens disease? Answer here: https://t.co/XJEsqoSlbn
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Efgartigimod Efficacy in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy
Today Argenx announced the results of their Phase 3 "ALKIVIA" study; demonstrating efficacy and safety of subcutaneous efgartigimod for Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy (IIM, AKA inflammatory myositis). https://t.co/TYP4KcdLoa
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Can Effective Psoriasis Therapy Prevent Psoriatic Arthritis?
A review article assesses and integrates mechanistic, imaging, and clinical evidence to examine whether effective treatment of psoriasis may modify the future risk of psoriatic arthritis (PsA). https://t.co/3gnV3eaKiu
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
"Great teachers set it up, and great students find the aha."
- Seth Godin https://t.co/Fc3SPdsYCE
Links:
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
In 2026 Abbvie granted 34 scholarships to students With Inflammatory Diseases. In the last 10 yrs, theyve granted $6 million to >350 students in the US for higher education. These awards up to $20,000 per student renewable up to 4 yrs. https://t.co/DFy5SukB6G https://t.co/9mVkrhL2lo
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
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 term subacromial pain, since structural findings on imaging correlate poorly with symptoms and are common in asymptomatic people.
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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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Doubting RS3PE (8.14.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles this week where RheumNow featured info on cancer, deadly viruses, AI rules, poetry and good moons rising.
https://t.co/gmcrjb5bDu https://t.co/LiLl7XcZQS
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Multiple chronic conditions (MCCs; AKA multimorbidity) is highly prevalent in AIRDs; complicates Rx & increases adverse outcomes & all-cause mortality. MMCs 86% in RA, 81.5% in SLE, w/ a notable patterns of cardiopulmonary and mental health disorders https://t.co/AOWCsEodXR https://t.co/NyAR0TUQkE
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
2026 Medscape report on Nurse practitioners shows nearly half of NPs are burned out, and for 1 in 6, that exhaustion has curdled into something heavier: both burnout and depression. Worse, 63% of NPs don't believe relief is in sight https://t.co/G8N5YgOKyA
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
SLE & Dermatomyositis rashes maybe classically red or violaceous in Whites,but different in people of color, where erythema often appears brown/violaceous, Gottron papules can be mistaken for "dry skin." This delays dx, especially in anti-MDA5+ RP-ILD, where rash may be the https://t.co/Savx5IOTcG
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Rheum Survey >> What therapy do you most commonly use to treat Sjogrens disease? Answer here: https://t.co/XJEsqoSlbn
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
From the Blog
At first, it seemed similar to many other such sessions – a circle of folding chairs, a group of colleagues whose visages exuded understanding and acceptance – but this was special. I started the meeting…. “Hi, my name is Artie.”
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Podcasts
Doubting RS3PE (8.14.2026)-
Mentshlichkeit (8.7.2026)
A JAKi After TNFi Failure in RA: SELECT-SWITCH at Week 12
TU: Systemic Burden of Gout Part 2 (24 plus)
Therapeutic Updates
Make Rheum for Rads: Autoimmune ILD Diagnosis, Monitoring, and the Patient Experience
Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Drs. Elizabeth Volkmann and Robert Suh explore the roles rheumatologists and radiologists play in diagnosing and monitoring autoimmune ILD and hear from a patient about her experience.
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A JAKi After TNFi Failure in RA: SELECT-SWITCH at Week 12
Sponsored by AbbVie Medical Affairs + Health Impact
Dr. Christina Charles-Schoeman and Dr. Manish Jain are back to discuss treatment considerations after TNFi failure in RA. Join them as they review the latest data from SELECT-SWITCH, including post hoc results in primary and secondary nonresponders presented at EULAR 2026.
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Poster Hall
Sponsored by AbbVie Medical Affairs + Health Impact
