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Are Concerns Over Avacopan Efficacy Overblown?
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MedPage Today

Oct 13, 2026

Avacopan (Tavneos), the complement pathway inhibitor for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), appeared strongly effective in an Italian registry study -- a step, maybe, toward setting to rest questions about its efficacy, if not its safety.
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On this week's podcast, Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news: Steroids are easy to start and hard to stop; hold the MTX but not the biologic or JAK, weighing in on avacopan, and age-old messages for old-age patients. 🎧 Read + listen: https://t.co/kK8WKgIxYT and subscribe wherever you https://t.co/xGTXyuRJU8

Don’t Hold the JAK (10.9.2026) | RheumNow

Ann Int Med report - 1/3 of advanced practice registered nurses trained at for-profit programs (CA 41%, FL 35%, TX 21%, IO 15%), up from just 2.4% in 2010. Estimated 1 APRN for every 2.2 physicians. 35% projected growth over the next decade (vs 3% growth for MDs) https://t.co/7vkB5yeLNR

'Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing' - Benjamin Franklin

Univ Toronto lupus clinic study of 165 #SLE pts w/ Bx-proven LN (age 35.3 yrs; Dz dur 6.2 years). Half on antimalarial Rx. Being on HCQ did not alter Renal Bx outcomes (prolif GN, NIH AI, NIH CI, IFTA score. (But is known to improve renal outcomes) https://t.co/oQ0CgK7rXm https://t.co/cJMMVFmLcy

Antimalarial exposure and renal histopathologic findings in lupus nephritis

An important pitch and resource for training and careers at the NIH - National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases https://t.co/JhU1zbVunF https://t.co/uIf5U2dXoC

Training Opportunities Within the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculosk…

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Treatment Landscape for Dermatomyositis Is Evolving

MedPage Today Oct 12, 2026

After years of inactivity, therapeutic development for dermatomyositis has begun to move forward with several new therapies and therapeutic strategies.

? value of FamHx in Rheum evals? My bias is that few Dz are heritable - #Ank Spondylitis, #gout, DIP Osteoarthritis! But literature says there's high heritability for SLE, RA, systemic sclerosis, Sjögren's, & autoimmune endocrinopathies. WHAT do you think? https://t.co/WGyQqpY1qX

Can DMARD Doses Be Safely Reduced for RA Patients? 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 https://t.co/GGPOBhVhJe

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/O9iJHEfp42

Uncontrolled report from UK Medical Cannabis Registry - 192 pts Rx w/ Cannabis for inflamm arthritis pain > 24 mos, showed improvement in BPI Severity, Pain VAS, SF-MPQ-2, SQS, EQ-5D-5L(P < .010) and in GAD-7 scores up (P < .001). https://t.co/fFwLl54XMi https://t.co/PJfQads4Au

UK Medical Cannabis Registry: An Updated Analysis of Inflammatory Arthritis

Not all Low Dz Activity RA pts do the same. COREVITAS study of 6,856 RA pts w/ baseline CDAI 0-10. Comparing very low LDA (2.8-6: ~19.6%) vs high LDA >6-10 (31%);latter were twice as likely to have CDAI moderate Dz activity at 1 and 2 years https://t.co/mmc1wzJXWY https://t.co/5CotYBn0Zb

The range of Clinical Disease Activity (CDAI) Low Disease Activity (LDA) at bas…

In early RA, initial b/tsDMARDs are better than MTX. Metanalysis of 29 RCTs (13387 pts), Vs MTX alone, initial b/tsDMARDs + MTX signif incr DAS28 remission 2 6 mos (RR 1.62) & 12 mos (RR 1.54). Benefits greater w/ higher baseline Dz, seropositivity https://t.co/exwVOc08xR https://t.co/Zcl62rxxJk

First-line biologic and targeted synthetic DMARDs versus methotrexate in early …

Retrospective cohort study of 387 ANCA-assoc. vasculitis pts Rx w/ GC +/- avacopan (AVA 52 vs 335 not Rx AVA). AVA use assoc w/ signif less severe infx (adj HR 0.22), & less pred use - but no diff in relapse risk was observed. https://t.co/GTtAf7KiqB https://t.co/WOOhAlnvFz

Reduced severe infection risk with avacopan in ANCA-associated vasculitis: a mu…

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/UoCQM4GtwL

Study of 64 Stills related #MAS pts (55 sJIA; 9 AOSD). All Rx GCs; 75% anakinra, 52% ciclosporin. Complete remission in 7, partial Rem in 64%; GCs tapered in 78% in median 40d. MAS recurred in 31%; 11% died; 1-year survival probability 93.75% https://t.co/HxhhpRsSMO https://t.co/WtJeFx0SGR

AMETHYST: a Retrospective Cohort Study of Treatment Patterns and Outcomes in Pa…

T-cell engager blinatumomab (CD3xCD19 TCE) was used for Deep B-cell depletion in 15 resistant RA pts (MDR-RA). @wk 12 9/15 CDAI LDA, 3/15 CDAI remission. Synovial B cells were depleted (4 of 5 biopsies) but not in lymph nodes. Later, 14/15 flared. No ICANs, 3/15 w/ CRS (gr 1) https://t.co/xLGZjkMmit

Metanalysis of IVIG in scleroderma (11 studies, 363 pts) showed IVIG to be safe; signif improvement in skin by mRSS (SMD −0.59; p 0.0019) & GI Dz (SMD −0.73; p 0.0012; I2 = 0%). W/ inflam myopathy signif reduction in CK (SMD −0.53; p<0.001) https://t.co/h53FrACCgA https://t.co/Y60ZfmnJgC

Frontiers | Efficacy and safety of intravenous immunoglobulin in systemic scler…

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

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

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From the Blog

Treatment for Obesity and Inflammation, but at what Cost?
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Jonathan Kay, MD

Sep 29, 2026

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.

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Podcasts

Don’t Hold the JAK (10.9.2026)
Oct 09, 2026
PsA Beyond the Joints: Rheum, Derm, and Gastro Perspectives
Oct 06, 2026
Remission – Believe it or Not (10.2.2026)
Oct 02, 2026
The Four Pillars of Weight Loss Part 4
Oct 01, 2026

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Therapeutic Updates

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

Sponsored by AbbVie Medical Affairs + Health Impact

Oct 01, 2026

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.

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