Recent News
That promised land of substantive weight loss comes within it the illusion of better disease control and, for inflammatory arthritis patients, the possibility of reducing the burden of regular medicines - often driven by the patient, with or without telling you. It is a dream worth aspiring to and, as we’ve discussed this month, one which is increasingly achievable, albeit still for a small minority of patients. So for those who do reach that ultimate goal, what next?Read Article
Prednisone Primer for Patients
The Washington Post published a patient overview on "what Prednisone does to your body".
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BMJ reports TriNetX EHR study showing GLP-1 RA use in knee OA pts was assoc w/ significantly lower cumulative TKA incidence (p<0.001). 1 year any GLP-1 RA (HR 0.90) or 3 yrs exposure (HR 0.72) signif lowered TKA 8 yrs later https://t.co/RGQJJHgLFv https://t.co/BoSgFoOyNN
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
52 VEXAS pts Rx w/ IL‐1i, IL‐6i, or JAKi therapy judged as compl Resp (CR), partial (PR), Failure (TF). @ 6mos: 3/19 IL‐6i had CR, 4/19 PR, 7/19 TF. JAKi had 2/17 CR, 3/17 PR, 6/17 TF. No CR w/ IL‐1i or TNFαi, only 1/5 IL‐1i patients experienced PR. Only IL‐6i & JAKi had https://t.co/wqogmfeAru
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Systematic review of 21 papers (23K RA pts) finds 12% w/ difficult-to-treat RA. Risk factors -- smoking (OR 1·16), obesity (1·38), FM (2·20) & depression (1·74). No assoc w/ current smoking or anxiety. https://t.co/BHxyEbSg8Y
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
RHEUM Survey>> Should rheumatologists run dedicated obesity clinics? Answer here>> https://t.co/O1DEKQLnYg
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Upadacitinib is now approved in European Union to treat active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) ages > 2yrs for those not responding to 1+ DMARDs. In the USA, UPA is approved for pJIA & juvenile PsA https://t.co/Vhx717rw5T https://t.co/OBMdjsegIq
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Mediterranean Diet Lowers Incident Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has published the results of the SUN Project study, showing that long-term adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) was associated with a substantially lower risk of incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but not psoriasis.
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Bringing TOGETHER-PsA Into Clinical Practice
When Ms. RS came into my clinic for a new patient evaluation, she was suffering from highly active skin disease, joint swelling, pain and poor mobility. Her body mass index was 46, indicating class III obesity. A treatment plan focused solely on her inflammatory disease without addressing her weight would not fully address her overall disease burden.
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Cluster analysis of Spanish RELES #SLE SLE cohort reveals 3 groups. C1 (n 168) was younger, w/ lupus nephritis, low C3, intensive Rx, high infx & damage. C2 (175) w/ cytopenias, serositis, APL & dsDNA(+). C3 (452) mild skin-Jts, less serologic activity & complications https://t.co/OYTXD4KV6O
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Long-term F/U of T2T Artic trial. 230 DMARD naive pts, 84% ACPA+ 179 (82%) in 10 yr F/U & 82% were in DAS < 1.6 remission 10 yrs later w/ only 17% w/ Xray progression. ~50% on csDMARDs, 30% on bDMARDs. Early aggressive works! https://t.co/ASRrIZqfS5 https://t.co/SykEI4QjPa
Links:
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Residual steroids doesnt preserve remission. Japan FRANK #RA registry 411/3,863 were in Boolean remission - 130 on GC vs 231 non-GC (1/3 on b/tsDMARDs). Roughly 1/3 flared to LDA @12 mos. Outcomes same for GC vs non-GC Rx pts. https://t.co/xPctEjFCLT https://t.co/YIHFaQkzeO
Links:
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
RHEUM Survey>> Should rheumatologists run dedicated obesity clinics? Answer here>> https://t.co/O1DEKQLnYg
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
J&J announced topline results of Phase 4 STAR study where guselkumab (Tremfya) improved in axial Sxs & MRI outcomes in 411 biologic-naïve axial PsA pts, STAR is a 24 wk DBPCT of GUS (IL-23 inhib) in DMARD unresponsive pts. Endpoint was BASDAI @ wk24. https://t.co/LkqwV0zRmn https://t.co/2Tdg96rWFX
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Scleroderma-Specific Autoantibodies in Early Systemic Sclerosis
Prognostication is tenous in early scleroderma, especially in those with dcSSc. dcSSc has associated with substantial morbidity and disease-specific mortality. Analysis of an early SSc registry shows that anti-RNA https://t.co/Qvu2vSShcg
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Obesity and Psoriatic Disease
Obesity is a clinically important comorbidity in psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Excess adiposity contributes to systemic inflammation and cardiometabolic risk and may adversely affect disease severity and response to some systemic https://t.co/WVIqfq8vEj
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Gabapentin Use Rose as Restrictions Fell, Study Shows
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.
https://t.co/xQ9MHqnNxB https://t.co/ipOWS4K61U
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Retrospective review of 33 referred pts w/ Recurrent fever w/ MSK & skin Sxs, assessed by NGS. NLRP1 had FMF-like Dz; NLRP recurrent fevers w/ mucocutaneous; NLRP12 periodic fevers w/ MP/EN rash; NLRC4 episodic systemic inflammation GI Sxs & atypical skin rash https://t.co/Ll2V0Uzfio
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
FDA has approved baricitinib (Olumiant) for the treatment of pediatric patients 12 years of age and older with severe alopecia areata https://t.co/OTXXQvNruw https://t.co/xrg5ocWyjo
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Prescribing New GLP-1-Based Therapies
https://t.co/cpxyxBMZ8s https://t.co/yV8Jvkh2sk
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Video
From the Blog
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.
Podcasts
The Four Pillars of Weight Loss Part 3
Rheumatology Pay Up (9.25.2026)
Obesity QD Clinics Part Three
Obesity Treatment & Safety
Therapeutic Updates
The Four Pillars of Weight Loss
RheumNow
Watch our 'Four Pillars of Weight Loss' 7-part series as part of this month's The Obesity Imperative campaign.
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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.
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Poster Hall
Sponsored by AbbVie Medical Affairs + Health Impact
Long-Term Safety of a JAKi in Clinical Trial and Real-World Settings Across >21,000 Patient-Years
Daily Gem
Obesity predicts psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and predicts a poorer response to biologics.
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