All News
ACR & Arthritis Foundation Denounce the Dismantling of Vital Health Programs
d
Arthritis Foundation and ACR
As organizations representing nearly 60 million adults and children living with arthritis in the United States and the rheumatologists and health care professionals who treat them, we are deeply alarmed by this week’s dismantling of multiple branches of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that manage essential research and public health programs critical to the well-being of millions of people living with chronic conditions.
Read Article
Diabetes Prevention with Hydroxychloroquine in Sjogren’s
A Taiwanese insurance claims analysis looked at hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) use in primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) and showed that HCQ exposure significantly reduces the risk of new onset dia
Osteoarthritis Risky Business (4.18.2025)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and Journal reports from this week on RheumNow. Osteoarthritis patients have unique risks and synovial fluid WBC numbers can tell you when to worry about septic arthritis in gout and pseudogout patients. https://t.co/T9KGoOBANN
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
2001–2015 Danish national health registry study of 1.8 million adults, including 290,781 w/ knee or hip #OA & 1.5 million age-, sex-, education-matched controls. Women w/ knee or hip OA had 44% higher risk of CV Dz (HR 1.44), while men w/ HOA/KOA lesser incr (HR 1.24) CV risk https://t.co/C3ZHZiM38T
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Enzyme Porcupine inhibition of Wnt signaling is a promising treatment forsclerosteosis - rare Dz caused by SOST mutations & loss of functional sclerostin. Results in high bone mass & skeletal overgrowth (Sxs of facial paralysis, hearing loss, incr intracranial pressure https://t.co/Bgr5zoHyMG
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
JAMA Pt Education handout - Scleroderma https://t.co/UpK24WfyNF
Links:
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Ultrasound lesions of dactylitis associ w/short-term development of PsA. Study of 64 PsO +arthralgia pts. IUS PD synovitis & B mode enthesitis predicted PsA Dx (p < .001) w/ an accuracy of 89.1 %, a sensitivity of 86.7 % and a specificity of 89.8 %. https://t.co/KoXMmoxXhP https://t.co/tj2NxKDkqh
Links:
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Retrospective EGPA study of mepolizumab Rx 45 pts Rx initially w/ 300 mg/4 weeks, 27% switched to 100 mg/4 wks after 26 mos & 50% maintained complete remission without GC. Other half had sinonasal Sxs Rx w/ increased MEP dose orlocal therapy. https://t.co/M4Gp52QdwQ https://t.co/zb13fuKhpH
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Genetic Sequencing in Rheumatology
Genetic sequencing as a research and diagnostic tool has expanded in medicine and rheumatology. An interesting review in Arthritis and Rheumatology suggests that despite currently modest use, there will be an expanded role for genetic
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
The Increasing Cost of First-Line Biologics for Plaque Psoriasis
A national commercial claims analysis of first-line use of biologics in biologic−naive plaque psoriasis patients found a near doubling of net treatment costs from 2007 to 2021 ($21 236 to $47 125). Despite the https://t.co/mWXz2o0mwz
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Obesity is a risk factor for not achieving remission in early #RA (ERA), independent of comorbidity. 1285 ERA RA pts; remission failure @6 mos = 64% w/ obese, 52% if overWt & 48% if NL wt. RR 1.33 w/ no change after adjusting for RF/CCP, education, EtOH, smoking, phys activity, https://t.co/341ba1rCSk
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan https://t.co/VQTvdtm9cw
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Distinguishing Septic and Gouty Arthritis
A single center, retrospective review of patients undergoing knee joint fluid aspirations for presumed crystalline arthritis (CA) showed that synovial WBC may provide a useful diagnostic marker for SA with an optimal threshold of 50,000 https://t.co/ye69mRooSh
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Predictors of Developing RA
A prospective cohort study of seropositive arthralgia patients demonstrated that baseline characteristics and labs can be used to predict which arthralgia patients are at highest risk of developing RA. These studies underscore the influence of https://t.co/wpSHDfwCL7
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Is High Dose Aspirin Needed in Kawasaki Disease (KD)?
Does aspirin add any advantage to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) alone in children with KD? A randomized clinical trial IVIG alone was not inferior to IVIG plus aspirin, suggesting that high-dose aspirin during initial https://t.co/uuCgDmgNif
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Should Lupus Nephritis Receive PJP Prophylaxis?
A current review article suggests that the need for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) prophylaxis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis will need to be individualized based on therapies and https://t.co/QGHxk3O8q4
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
An emulation trial shows that Humira biosimilars (Amjevita & Imraldi) were equivalent to Humira in psoriasis & achieving PASI <=2, both for new biologic starts and for biologic switchers. https://t.co/zLnPbtXKie https://t.co/ispbmxd8dv
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
CDC's Committee on Immunization (ACIP) met and recommended:
1. Expand strains for meningococcal vax
2. Lower age for RSV vax > 50y
3. Rec. chikungunya vax for certain travelers
- Flu & Covid Vax to be up next mtg 6/25 https://t.co/jInnR5JSxS https://t.co/PXg0HDLgnL https://t.co/4pfZSRrEzi
Links:
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Genetic Analysis of Asymptomatic Antinuclear Antibody Positive Patients
A large scale genomic population study found antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in up to 14% of the population; most with ANA are asymptomatic, and ANA production is not associated with significant genetic risk. https://t.co/Ltqf1yaaoy
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Genomics and Future Drug Targets for Osteoarthritis
A Nature article details the results of an osteoarthritis, genome-wide association study meta-analyses across up to 489,975 cases and 1,472,094 controls, establishing 962 independent associations, 513 of which have not been https://t.co/OYyePkAeAM
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)