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!
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)
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.
Read Article
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)
FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to treprostinil inhalation powder (Yutrepia - currently FDA approved to tx Pulm HTN) for the Treatment of Raynaud’s Phenomenon assoc w/ Systemic Sclerosis. A Phase 2a RE-WARM dose-finding study will begin October 2026. https://t.co/x4X1Ld1egZ https://t.co/GsZ9LXJjre
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/N9rg30EA4W
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Meta-analysis 24 studies (3015 hidradenitis suppurativa pts) taking IL-17 inhibitor, IBD adverse events were rare, w/ no difference in IBD risk betw IL-17i & PBO (0.23% vs 0 of 2572 vs 1066 pts respectively) thru wk 16. The reported assocn of IL-17 inhibitors w/ IBD risk is https://t.co/kDwR5Fc1zI
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Difficult PsA is called ‘difficult-to-manage’ (D2M) or ‘treatment-refractory’ dz (TRD). Data from 5 Nordic PsA registries 14,362 ps, D/Cs of ≥2/≥3/≥4 b/tsDMARDs in 36%/18%/10%. Freq of D2M low 2%/3%/3%, & TRD was 1.2%/1.2%/0.8%. Female #s, depression, & opioids incr w/ # of https://t.co/FkQU5BVRn2
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
RCT 451 chronic LBP in general practice shows 8-wk telehealth mindfulness reduced pain intensity and interference at 6 months compared with usual care, BUT changes did not meet the prespecified mean 1-point MCID between groups. Is it worth doing? https://t.co/H4oYTeq1is https://t.co/cozq7gGnYO
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/jsWungkcG6
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( 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
Real-World Predictors and Early Indicators for IBD in Patients With PsA
Rheumnow Survey
Have you ever prescribed a weight loss drug (e.g., tirzepatide, semaglutide) for your arthritis patient?
Daily Gem
Obesity induces a perpetual state of low-grade inflammation. Visceral fat amplifies systemic disease activity.
--