Beyond Disease Modification: Palliative Care in Rheumatology

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Therapeutic advances have transformed the prognosis of many rheumatic diseases, allowing patients to achieve sustained disease control and avoid irreversible organ damage. For some, however, rheumatology conditions progressively cause decline, damage, loss of function, and ultimately shortened life expectancy. Palliative care is an under-utilized and often misunderstood tool within rheumatology.

Gabapentin Use Rose as Restrictions Fell, Study Shows

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Gabapentin use jumped quickly in Michigan after the drug was removed from the state's controlled substance schedule in 2024, a cross-sectional study showed.

Obesity and Psoriatic Disease

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Obesity is a clinically important comorbidity in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Excess adiposity contributes to systemic inflammation and cardiometabolic risk and may adversely affect disease severity and response to some systemic therapies. Intentional weight loss should be considered an adjunct to appropriate dermatologic and rheumatologic treatment.

Scleroderma-Specific Autoantibodies in Early Systemic Sclerosis

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Prognostication is tenous in early scleroderma, especially in those with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc). dcSSc has associated with substantial morbidity and disease-specific mortality.

Steroid Delusions in Giant Cell Arteritis

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A real world analysis of drug use in giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients shows that despite intending to taper patients off glucocorticoids (GC) by 24 months, 75% remained on GCs for ≥ 48 months.

Endocrine Society - State of Obesity Science and Management

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The Endocrine Society has published a scientific statement reframing obesity as a heterogeneous, chronically dysregulated fat-mass disorder, the biology of which is being tested effectively by GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists. Is this precision-medicine? We await long-term safety data, while assessing the outcomes in rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders.

Lifestyle and Incretin Therapy Advice for Rheumatologists

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As GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists become standard co-management tools for obese patients with RA, PsA, axSpA, and gout, this JAMA Insights perspective by Kushner, et al. reframes lifestyle counseling as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy - a reversal of the traditional model. This has with direct implications for how we counsel obese patients we start or co-manage on these agents.

Early RA Referral Clinics Work (9.18.2026)

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

EBR Journal Club: Obexelimab in IgG4-Related Disease (INDIGO)

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The EBR Journal Club Companion applies my adapted version of the JAMA approach to critical appraisal to an important RCT in rheumatology. Each review covers four domains: Does this apply to my patients? What is the risk of bias? How great are the benefits and harms? And what didn’t they show me? This edition: INDIGO (obexelimab in IgG4-related disease).

Obesity and Gout: An Old Relationship with New Thoughts

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Current recommendations are that obesity management is an integral component of gout treatment and that, in parallel, gout awareness is an important component in the treatment of the metabolic syndrome.

ACR Updates Osteoarthritis Guidance

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The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has released updated clinical guidance for the treatment and management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, hip, and hand. The evidence-based recommendations update the 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline and are designed to support individualized, shared decision-making between patients and clinicians.

Review of HLA-B27

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HLA-B27 remains the dominant genetic link to spondyloarthritis (SpA) across the age spectrum, but B27 related clinical expression diverges between children and adults. New mechanistic data on autoreactive T cells, HLA-B27 misfolding, and gut-joint trafficking point to new plausible, targetable pathways.

Added IVIG is Effective in Myositis

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Early RA Referral Clinics Work!

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An outcomes study from the Leiden Early Arthritis Clinic (EAC) has shown substantially less diagnostic delay and better long-term outcomes when patients are referred to EAC compared to usual referrals.

Bariatric Surgery in the Era of GLP-1RA

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Weight loss with lifestyle changes alone is difficult to sustain for most people. One reason for this is the weight loss associated endocrine milieu, which can decrease energy expenditure and increase the drive to eat. Therefore, we frequently use medications and/or bariatric surgery.