Recent News

Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Danish national study (2003-2024) of 51,401 #PMR pts (24K PCPs, 27K secondary MDs): PMR incidence = 112/100K. PMR decr 53% in primary care & incr 30% in secondary care (overall 12% decline). Among PMR, GCA rate was 5.4/1,000 PYs, w/ median 68 days from PMR Dx. 28% & 22% were https://t.co/s168riRRLB
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Petri SLE Pearls: An Update At the CCR West 2026 conference in Huntington Beach, California, Dr. Michelle Petri updated her Petri Pearls. Some are derived from new data, while others are from her extensive experience caring for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). https://t.co/cKXQZdQrGa
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Italian retrospective study of 36 difficult #GCA pts (89% relapsed; 72% prev TCZ) showed Clinical remission 85%, 81%, & 83% at 3, 6, & 12 mos. GC-free remission increased to 15%, 28%, & 40% at 3, 6, & 12 mos. GCs d/c in 43%. Results at odds w/ ph III GCAptAIN RCT where SEC https://t.co/VnMSCPwMrn
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Don't Hold the Biologic or JAK with COVID-19 Vaccination A randomized clinical trial in inflammatory arthritis arthritis shows that temporarily holding biologic or Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor therapy at the time of COVID-19 vaccination is not warranted. https://t.co/moQIE09lvi
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Steroids are easy to start and hard to stop. Hold the MTX, but not the biologic or JAK. And what’s the latest on avacopan? This week, Dr. Jack Cush reviews the rheumatology news you don’t want to miss: from new approvals and promising trial results to sobering Sjögren’s data, https://t.co/UC4RdHMaFS
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Predicting and Preventing Psoriatic Arthritis Psoriatic arthritis is often underdiagnosed in those with psoriasis (PsO), leading to diagnostic delays an undertreatment. While certain factors in PsO portend a future PsA risk, a predictive profile and early intervention algorithm https://t.co/yvJr293MHs
article

Can DMARD Doses Be Safely Reduced for RA Patients?

MedPage Today

Close to 90% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) well controlled on targeted therapies were able to take 50% dosage reductions without experiencing worsened disease activity in a randomized trial, South Korean researchers said.

Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Agenx announced it will discontinue its phase 3 UNITY study -efgartigimod SC in adults with mod-to-severe Sjögren's dz, based on not meeting its primary endpoint (clinESSDAIwk 48) & rec from DSMB. ""Sjögren's Disease is one of the most heterogeneous and complicated diseases in https://t.co/fmuzxvaCGx
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
POETYK PsA-1 - Efficacy and Safety of Deucravacitinib in Psoriatic Arthritis van der Heijde et al have published the results of the phase 3 POETYK PsA-1 trial demonstrating that deucravacitinib was superior to placebo in clinical responses, patient-reported outcomes, and https://t.co/ovASDqLeWK
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
EBR Journal Club: Brepocitinib in Dermatomyositis (VALOR) The EBR Journal Club Companion applies my adapted version of the JAMA approach to critical appraisal. Each review covers four domains: Does this apply to my patients? What is the risk of bias? How great are the benefits https://t.co/KUB7fpmdbf
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Exercise Can Improve Pain A pooled meta-analyses (n=197,392) shows that exercise reduced pain versus control immediately after the intervention (SMD −0.59; 95% CI −0.65 to −0.53; P<0.001). The benefit held across musculoskeletal, inflammatory, neurologic and cancer pain, and https://t.co/rbZlyfrCOW
Dr. John Cush Tweet
@RheumNow
Retrospective real world avacopan (AVCP) safety data from UK vasculitis center looked at AAV pts (RTX or CTX) rx w/ AVCP (n 133) or not AVCP (n 458). @1 yr AVCP had nonsignif incr in ALT >2xULN (15.8% v 11.4%) or >3xULN (11.3% v 6.3%; P 0.064) No diff in Alk phos, Bili, Hy's law https://t.co/ZZhpxdKhQl

Video

From the Blog

rheumthought

Treatment for Obesity and Inflammation, but at what Cost?

Jonathan Kay, MD
Kay RT cover still

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. 

Read Article

Podcasts

  • Don’t Hold the JAK (10.9.2026)
  • PsA Beyond the Joints: Rheum, Derm, and Gastro Perspectives
  • Remission – Believe it or Not (10.2.2026)
  • The Four Pillars of Weight Loss Part 4
Ask Cush Anything

Submit your Rheumatology question or case here

Therapeutic Updates

PsA Beyond the Joints: Rheum, Derm, and Gastro Perspectives

Sponsored by AbbVie Medical Affairs + Health Impact
AbbVie October RX Update
Dr. Saakshi Khattri hosts dermatologist Dr. Ahmad Amin and gastroenterologist Dr. Joshua Steinberg to discuss multidisciplinary care in PsA and other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Learn how signals in the skin and gut may prompt the need for collaboration across specialties to support better patient outcomes that extend beyond the joints.
Read Post

Obesity – Inflammation – PsA

Sponsored by Lilly Medical Affairs
Lilly October
Learn about the inflammatory intersection between Psoriatic Arthritis and Obesity, and why adiposity is more than a comorbidity.
Read Post

Clinical dilemmas in axSpA and PsA

Sponsored by UCB
UCB October RX Update
Explore some of the challenges rheumatologists face in clinical practice, including expert perspectives from UCB's Annual International Immunology Summit.
Read Post
How well do you know this week's rheumatology news?
Take the rheumIQ quiz
Take the RheumIQ Quiz

×