Is temporal artery ultrasound equivalent or superior to the reference standard of temporal artery biopsy when diagnosing giant cell arteritis (GCA)?

Dr. Jack Cush answers audience clinical case questions sent by email or "ask Cush anything". Cases and questions from:

Abatacept has been studied in seropositive clinically suspect arthralgia patients (at risk for rheumatoid arthritis) and shows the potential to delay or prevent the disease. 

The antidiabetic and weight-loss drug semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) either does or does not help patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) avoid complications and other poor outcomes, according to two retrospective studies presented here.

The NEJM has published the results of the FRONTIER 1 trial demonstrating the efficacy of JNJ-77242113, an oral interleukin-23 (IL-23) receptor antagonist peptide, in patients with psoriasis (PSO). 

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. Highlights are summarized by three songs: "Stairway to Heaven", "You're No Good", and "How Long (has this been going on)".

Refractory of difficult to treat (D2T-RA) rheumatoid arthritis (RA) comprises a minority of patients that can be categorized by clinical and imaging parameters to formulate a better therapeutic approach. 

In the 2 years that followed the termination of the VITAL study, the preventative effect of vitamin D on incident autoimmune disease disappeared with supplement discontinuation; but n-3 fatty acid treated individuals had a sustained benefit in reducing the risk of autoimmune disease.

Approximately 12 million US adults in the US have gout. Two recent literature reports highlight contributors to gout flares.

 For many aspiring mothers with autoimmune disease, pregnancy can be daunting and full of unknowns. In some cases, those suffering from specific autoimmune conditions have chosen to forego pregnancy altogether due to concerns about their disease treatments and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. This week we discuss hipsters undergoing hip replacement, pregnancy outcomes in RA and the future of academic clinicians.

US commercial insurance claim analysis of laboratory screening and monitoring practices in chronic inflammatory skin disease (CISD) patients shows that < 60% received the recommended pretreatment testing when starting systemic immunomodulatory treatment.

Ultrasound subclinical synovitis is found in a third of individuals at risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients; in half of these, subclinical synovitis resolves with a favorable outcome.