A meta-analysis of trials using biologics [adalimumab (ADA), ustekinumab (UST) and secukinumab (SEC)] in the the management of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) suggests promising results, but more controlled, rigorous studies are needed. While only adalimumab is currently FDA approved for this inflammatory skin disorder, numerous trials with other biologics exist or are in progress.

JAK inhibitors are approved for several immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and carry a higher than usual risk of herpes zoster in certain conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and ulcerative colitis.

“Bad is stronger than good.”  Wait, bad is bad, right? No good should come of bad. But if you reconsider bad, it could be a challenge, and not a pothole. Success and great opportunity are often the rebound to adversity (bad) or failure. Yet, for most, bad drives the story we tell ourselves; a deflating spin of negativism that is sticky or inescapable.

An estimated 100,000 to 120,000 fragility fractures occur annually in the Netherlands, the equivalent of at least 11 broken bones per hour. The cause is osteoporosis, a disease in which the skeleton becomes weak and fragile, leading to potentially devastating fractures that result in disability, loss of independence and premature death for some sufferers.

Can something as simple as a cup of coffee with milk have an anti-inflammatory effect in humans? Apparently so, according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. A combination of proteins and antioxidants doubles the anti-inflammatory properties.

A group of researchers from the Graduate School of Medicine at Nagoya University in Japan have discovered the impact of microRNA (miRNA) on inflammation in lupus in mice. They identified two miRNAs that are downregulated in the disease and an uncommon situation that occurs in which multiple miRNAs regulate the same set of genes.  

Dr. Jack Cush reviews this week’s journal articles, focuses on studies that should not have been done and responds to viewer questions in Ask Cush Anything.

Nearly one in 10 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) also have rheumatologic disorders, meaning that specialists have to talk to each other to develop a treatment plan that works for both conditions, a researcher suggested.

Two artificial intelligence (AI) programs -- including ChatGPT -- have passed the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), according to two recent papers. The papers highlighted different approaches to using large language models to take the USMLE, which is comprised of three exams: Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3.

A great study of a recently described rheumatologic/hematologic disorder VEXAS (vacuoles, E1-ubiquitin-activating enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome recently appeared in JAMA, describing the frequency and presentations of UBA1 variant. 

A new blood test that can identify progression of osteoarthritis in the knee is more accurate than current methods, providing an important tool to advance research and speed discovery of new therapies.

I wanted to complain about patients who complain, but guilt and common sense took over. I intended to declare the problem to primarily belong to the doctor, rather than the patient. To me, the solution to the patient’s consternation should begin and end with the source: me (you). My introspection, reasonings, and commandments were fine, but I kept running into the enigma of “Trust” – which can either be a speed-bump or chasm in our physician-

An analysis of the belimumab clinical trials, the Belimumab Pregnancy Registry (BPR), and postmarketing/spontaneous reports looked at outcomes in pregnant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) exposed to belimumab reported there are few pregnancies and confounding disease and comorbidity factors to provide clear guidance for such patients. 

Recent NEJM has reviewed arthroplasty-associated infection and periprosthetic joint infections (PJI), noting this is a rare event; notably these infections are caused by skin microorganisms introduced during arthroplasty surgery or may be seeded post-surgically, via hematogenously spread or compromised local tissues (skin or bone).

Data from 17 international registries (JAK-pot collaboration) suggest that for Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients failing their first janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi), it did not matter if they were cycled to another JAKi or switched to a biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD).