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ABA versus HCQ in Palindromic Rheumatism
Palindromic rheumatism may develop rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and could be an at-risk population. A pilot trial compared abatacept (ABA) versus hydroxychloroquine and demonstrated ABA reduces RA development in a 2 year study.
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Infectious Rheumatology (5.15.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush discusses his favorite journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Another IL-17A inhibitor (Vunakizumab) for active Ankylosing Spondylitis
Vunakizumab, a novel anti–interleukin (IL) 17A monoclonal antibody, was studied in patients with active radiographic axial spondyloarthritis [r-axSpA] and found to be effective and
Toll-Like Receptor Drugs Effective in Cutaneous Lupus
MedPage Today
Enpatoran, an investigational oral drug that inhibits Toll-like receptors (TLR) 7 and 8, was superior to placebo in relieving lupus skin manifestations in a dose-finding phase II trial.
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Influential Rheumatoid Factors (5.8.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from this past week on RheumNow.com
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A Patient’s Plea for a New Paradigm in Autoimmune Disease
A current article in Nature Reviews Rheumatology has a patient boldly asking why we rheumatologists aren't more like her oncologists?
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Breaking the Rules: Dual-Advanced Combinations in Rheumatology
For decades, the standard of care in rheumatology has been combination therapy - pairing methotrexate (MTX) with an advanced biologic or synthetic agent to achieve optimal outcomes.
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Medical Economics reports only 18% MDs practiced in MD-owned settings, a new low. By Jan '26 hospitals or corporate employment rose to 550,494 & independent MDs fell to 120,900 https://t.co/l0tt3yO9kt https://t.co/pkgmHFPjE1
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FDA has approved benralizumab (Fasenra) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients w/ hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES); based on the NATRON Phase III trial https://t.co/qqPsjhUClP https://t.co/lCZNoTh9fv
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Branebrutinib (Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor) was studied in phase 2 RCT of 85 RA pts for 12 weeks and was safe but failed to achieve an ACR50 response (19% BTK vs 33% PBO; p=0·16). https://t.co/gTjLJm9iIW https://t.co/GN9p1P8ZNJ
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UCB has aquired Candid Therapeutics for $2 billion; plan to lead in autoimmune dz by acquiring cizutamig - a T cell engager. Its been studied in >100 pts, including early Global Phase 2 RCTs of myasthenia gravis & ILD. https://t.co/xz4uEhvxu6 https://t.co/6FS1riLecW
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No link between pregnancy tylenol & autism. JAMA Pediatrics data from 1.5 million Danish children( 1997 -2022); ~2% were tylenol exposed during preg. 2% of these Dx w/ Dx w/ autism (vs. 3% not exposed) https://t.co/Pp1tE54Dic https://t.co/qu61jKolpN
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FDA has published final guidance on Postapproval Pregnancy Safety Studies; how to study outcomes in pregnant women exposed to drugs & biologics- updates on registries,statistical methods, complementary studies, rare Rx exposures https://t.co/NWxrgB0dPQ https://t.co/ckyaJ07MQ0
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Review of Toll-like Receptor Research
A new review on TLRs systematically summarizes 40 years of discoveries in the TLR field, from the initial identification of Toll in Drosophila embryonic development to the current understanding of multilayered regulatory mechanisms that https://t.co/Rvy24nmuTj
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EMA/European Commission has aproved Sotyktu (deucravacitinib) for the Treatment of Active Psoriatic Arthritis in Adults https://t.co/Fv9DON1AvB https://t.co/Li79tKzMxK
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Breaking the Rules: Dual-Advanced Combinations in Rheumatology
For decades, the standard of care in rheumatology has been combination therapy - pairing methotrexate (MTX) with an advanced biologic or synthetic agent to achieve optimal outcomes.
https://t.co/4lyYTTwJUU https://t.co/sYpYbCjlzm
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4/30/26 US Dept of Education finalized is rule on Grad loans "Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE)" that will markedly cut Federal Grad loans for nurses, nurse practitioner (NP) and physician associate (PA) training. https://t.co/kdm0ZLZfnL https://t.co/OGr3BEYga7
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Taiwan, real-world study 267 RA new DMARD starts w/ tofacitinib (145) or TNFi (122). Post adjustments; no significant difference in Efficacy, AEs, Serious AE (20 v 21%), MACE (0 v 0.8%), CA (2% vs 0.8%), deaths (1.4% vs 3.3), SIE (13% vs 8.2%) or H zoster (12% v 3%) https://t.co/XLsdfKyeGx
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U.S. spending on prescription drugs in 2025 jumped 13% to $915 billion=projected to surpass $1 trillion in 2026, according to ASHP/USA today. One major reason– the popularity of the weight-loss and diabetes drugs tirzepatide and semaglutide. https://t.co/EQ9yFCCdBp https://t.co/cig1jNp6NF
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FDA Targeting the Safety of Avacopan
The future of avacopan is up in the air. In April, the FDA issued a drug safety warning, previously requesting that Amgen to pull its rare disease drug Tavneos from the market. Now, there appears more pressure to remove it from the market. https://t.co/Otl0WQaOqo
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