Participation is Up! (1.31.2025)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. We also have two call-in cases on "Ask Cush Anything".

Be sure to join in the fun at RNL 2025 next weekend - Gong Show Karaoke; what will you sing?

Adalimumab Withdrawal in Uveitis Patients

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Adalimumab is an effective treatment for JIA-associated uveitis and has been FDA approved for such use - but for how long and can the drug be withdrawn? An adalimumab (ADA) withdrawal trial has shown recurrence of uveitis, arthritis, or both, when the disease was previously controlled on ADA.

Anti-Zoster Drug Prevents Shingles in Lupus Patients on Anifrolumab

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The antiviral drug valaciclovir (Valtrex), given prophylactically, kept patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) under treatment with anifrolumab (Saphnelo) from having herpes zoster attacks, researchers said, offering a potential alternative to zoster vaccination.

Off-Label Use of JAK Inhibitors in Orphan Diseases and Other Conditions?

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When should you consider off-label use of JAKi?

A new score to quantify GCA inflammation?

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The treatment paradigm for Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) has been a binary approach to the presence or absence of vasculitis. When GCA is present, we institute high doses of glucocorticoids for treatment of the inflammatory process. This approach is not well individualized to the patient as we do not account for the degree of inflammation that may or may not be present in the disease. Improved markers to stratify the extent of inflammation can help to tailor a more personalized approach to treatment.

Difficult to Manage Axial Spondyloarthritis

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Studies show that patients with difficult-to-manage axSpA have a higher disease activity; however, the lack of a consensus definition led researchers and clinicians to utilize their own proposed definition, resulting in variability of the characteristics of non-responders.