All News

RheumNow Podcast square

NHANES, Numbers, & Risk (7.18.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com along with interesting case questions from "Ask Cush Anything".

Read Article
pregnancy,doctor,consult

Pregnancy in SLE: Risks Extend Beyond Clinical Concerns

Bella Mehta, MBBS, MS

While clinical comorbidities such as lupus nephritis, hypertension, and thrombocytopenia have traditionally dominated risk assessments, new findings presented at EULAR 2025 spotlight the critical—and often underrecognized—role of social determinants of health (SDOH) in shaping maternal outcomes.

Read Article
pregnant woman

Add-on certolizumab in pregnant women with APS

Md Yuzaiful Md Yusof, MRCP(UK), PhD

Women with antiphospholipid syndrome and lupus anti-coagulant are at high risk of developing adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO). Usual care includes low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and low dose aspirin (LDA). Despite these therapies, APO have been reported up to 40%.

Read Article
pregnant, pregnancy, mother, fertility

Pregnancy outcomes in autoinflammatory disease

EurekAlert!

To address this, a French multi-centre prospective pregnancy observational cohort was set up, to analyse disease activity, treatment, pregnancy outcomes, delivery, and neonatal health.

Read Article
RheumNow Podcast square

MTX Fails Knee OA (6.6.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com

Read Article
autoimmune.disease

Autoimmunity Rising in Expectant Mothers

Jack Cush, MD

Lancet Rheumatology has published a UK study showing a significant increased in the number of expectant mothers beginning their pregnancies with autoimmune conditions.

Read Article
Pregnant Women on TNFi more likely to use throughout gestation, w/ less steroids. 3711 preg on TNFi in 49,925 F (w/ RA, AS, PsA, PsO, IBD) -- 64% had 3 trimester TNFi use. 89% exposed preconception & 68% cont postpartum. TNFi use incr from 55% to 73% i(20111-21) https://t.co/DVvbwx6MoW
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
French Teratology Service study of 57 pregnant women exposed to anti-IL-1 (47% for Stills Dz) found no evidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes with IL-1 inhibition (43 anakinra, 5 canakinumab) 85% livebirths, 11% early miscarriages. Major congenital malformations 3% https://t.co/iyLvaNKA2o
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Systemic sclerosis have more adverse pregnancy outcomes. Swedish Medical Birth Register study pre- & post SSc Dx (94 vs 978) finds incr risk post SSc for preeclampsia (RR 3.8), preterm birth (3.3), & caesarean (2.5). No incr of maternal or neonatal death, nor stillbirth https://t.co/9PWREN62r0
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Swedish Medical Birth Register study of pregnancy in systemic sclerosis (SSc) shows increased risk of preeclampsia (RR 3.8; 1.8-7.8), preterm birth (3.3; 1.8-6.1), & caesareans (2.5; 1.8-3.5) esp w/ 1st pregnancy -- but not incr. maternal or neonatal death, nor stillbirth https://t.co/SNSK5947zO
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Pregnancy in SLE: Risks Extend Beyond Clinical Concerns Pregnancy in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) continues to carry significantly elevated risks, with maternal mortality rates nearly five times higher than in the general population. https://t.co/3G7Eftt0Kg https://t.co/X3SUl6FTHO

Links:

Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Add-on certolizumab in pregnant women with APS Women with antiphospholipid syndrome and lupus anti-coagulant are at high risk of developing adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO). Usual care includes low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and low dose aspirin (LDA). https://t.co/qnnkFlhtiS
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Pregnancy outcomes in autoinflammatory disease To address this, a French multi-centre prospective pregnancy observational cohort was set up, to analyse disease activity, treatment, pregnancy outcomes, delivery, and neonatal health. The work – presented at the 2025 annual https://t.co/oQ7A2bnDmO
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Management of SLE: -Treat early to prevent organ damage -Taper GC to <5mg/d in the first 6m when feasible -New therapies are promising but still unmet needs in LN, limited global access and lacking data in pregnancy. #EULAR2025 @RheumNow https://t.co/UKK8sTYJD2

Links:

Adela Castro AdelaCastro222 ( View Tweet)
PsA asso w/ higher risk of preterm births in women Scandinavian registries 688 PsA pregnancies 8% preterm births vs. 4.5% general population OR 1.8 16.4% if bDMARD combination OR 4 3.1% if bDMARD monotherapy OR 0.7 bDMARDs combo probably a surrogate of high disease activity

Aurelie Najm AurelieRheumo ( View Tweet)

#EULAR2025 Abstr#OP0273 Single arm, Open Label Phase 2 trial showed Certolizumab (given in WKS 8-28) +LMWH+LDA in Antiphospholipid syndrome reported 20% Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in ITT; 18% Per Protocol. Met prespecified criterion (20%); expected LMWH+LDA (40%) @RheumNow https://t.co/ynQ2h2NTQ7

Links:

Md Yuzaiful Md Yusof Yuz6Yusof ( View Tweet)
#EULAR2025 Abstr#POS0991 RCT showed Adjuvanted Herpes Zoster vaccination appeared safe in #SLE upto 1 year. However, humoral and cellular responses declined over time. Longer follow up needed to ascertain frequency of vaccine to be repeated @RheumNow https://t.co/FcUi1OfBLu

Links:

Md Yuzaiful Md Yusof Yuz6Yusof ( View Tweet)
So much needed in SLE and pregnancy 1. Risk stratification at diagnosis 2. Pregnancy counseling at dx and >1 y before pregnancy 3. Close collab with GYN necessary 4. Challenging management given gaps in evidence. #EULAR2025 #asktheexpert @RheumNow https://t.co/MXGkKpl452

Links:

Adela Castro AdelaCastro222 ( View Tweet)
Lupus Unlocked: Pregnancy and SLE In this webinar, panelists discussed issues such as congenital heart block, lupus nephritis treatment, teratogenic risks including conception on mycophenolate, antiphospholipid syndrome, hypertension management including the differential https://t.co/0RfAH7jW0J
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
IMPACT Study - Certolizumab Efficacy in APS Pregnancies A pilot trial assessed the safety and value of tumour necrosis factor α inhibitor treatment with certolizumab in patients with high-risk pregnancies with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Certolizumab (CZP) was shown to https://t.co/sbXW6vNX5y
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
How well do you know this week's rheumatology news?
Take the rheumIQ quiz
Take the RheumIQ Quiz

×