Close to 90% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) well controlled on targeted therapies were able to take 50% dosage reductions without experiencing worsened disease activity in a randomized trial, South Korean researchers said.

A randomized clinical trial in inflammatory arthritis arthritis shows that temporarily holding biologic or Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor therapy at the time of COVID-19 vaccination is not warranted.

van der Heijde et al have published the results of the phase 3 POETYK PsA-1 trial demonstrating that deucravacitinib was superior to placebo in clinical responses, patient-reported outcomes, and structural damage inhibition in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

This pooled meta-analyses (n=197,392) shows that exercise reduced pain versus control immediately after the intervention (SMD −0.59; 95% CI −0.65 to −0.53; P0.001). The benefit held across musculoskeletal, inflammatory, neurologic and cancer pain, and for every modality tested.

The NEJM reports that retatrutide, an investigational incretin agent, was shown to yield up to 25% weight reduction, with subanalyses also showing reduced pain with knee osteoarthritis, and less apnea–hypopnea events in participants with obstructive sleep apnea.

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

At the CCR West 2026 conference in Huntington Beach, California, Dr. Michelle Petri updated her Petri Pearls. Some are derived from new data, while others are from her extensive experience caring for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Ambient AI documentation is being adopted as a tool for clinical documentation, with the potential to improve efficiency and patient interaction. This may be particularly well suited to rheumatology, where visits often involve complex, longitudinal histories, multiple high-risk medications, and extensive counseling. Ambient AI also introduces significant risks.