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Rheum Scholarship (8.21.2026)
Dr. Cush reviews the news and journal articles from this past week on RheumNow.com; talking about lumbar belts, scholarships and misdiagnosis.
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A Tribute to Thomas A. Medsger Jr., MD (1936–2026)
The rheumatology and scleroderma communities mourn the loss of Dr. Thomas A. Medsger Jr., who died August 15, 2026, in Pittsburgh, at age 89.
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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 https://t.co/mCbNBAt9T5
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Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Rheumatoid Arthritis
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; https://t.co/IsS6vqo6vU
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Latest #s: EHR estimates from 6 large US medical systems, estimated prevalence of autoimmune Dz (AID) to be >15 million (4.6% US population); 34% have > 1 AID. Women have 2x risk. Sex ratio of 1.7:1 F:M. https://t.co/tfSCpRqHbY https://t.co/VckjIoGOaa
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JAMA: Review of Shoulder Pain
JAMA Internal Medicine (Haas et al, 2026) has published a clinical overview to the approach, diagnosis and management of Shoulder Pain.
https://t.co/xYSahFksx9 https://t.co/kTIml2mD6k
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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.
https://t.co/zq7pGaZO72 https://t.co/kvco72v5IZ
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MASLD - Spanish review of 330 pts (101 psoriasis, 127 PsA, 102 controls) found metabolic-dysfunc-assoc steatotic liver Dz in 48% PsO, 32% PsA, 9% controls (p < 0.001). FibroScan tended higher in PsO 6.01 PsA 5.1 vs 4.9 controls https://t.co/wPxbLwVlOW https://t.co/ZtqYX5HPZa
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Childhood vs Adult onset SLE? Retro Australian Lupus Registry study of 519 SLE pts (68/13% w/ cSLE) found childhood onset had signif more damage (SDI≥1 53 vs 40%; renal Dz 62 vs 37%), more Dz activity, less LLDAS-50 (36% vs 51%) https://t.co/ttBRtSVl5n https://t.co/hoN1t16Za3
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RHEUMATOLOGIST Survey Q> For Sjogrens disease, what therapy do you most commonly use? Click here: https://t.co/XJEsqoSlbn https://t.co/FvlOqwl2aD
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Systematic review of targeted Rx for lupus nephritis during pregnancy (2000-25). HCQ & AZA are cornerstone good Rx. Acceptable: tacrolimus, ASA. MMF is TERATOGENIC-AVOID! Not Enuf data; Voclosporin, obinutuzumab, Anifrolumab https://t.co/otO9nMHHuO https://t.co/1hLysZLJnG
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Nonrigid lumbar belts for nonspecific low back pain actually work! Multicenter French trial enrolled 168 nsLBP pts - belt group had better wk 12, lower pain scores andless need for back pain medication. https://t.co/zgRclsoAR8 https://t.co/9HVwuE1YLz
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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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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
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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
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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
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