A Day of Infamy (9.11.2026) Save

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on Rheumnow.com - including obesity, disappointing durability with GLP-1 drugs, AI diagnoses and worries about CV risk in ANCA-associated vasculitis. And take this week's RheumIQ quiz!

1. Weight Loss Improves Psoriatic Disease Substantially!
2. High BMI decreases the odds for MDA in PsA, esp w/ TNFi Rx (but not Inflx, IL-17i, IL-12/23i, IL-23i, JAKi). Longitudinal PsA cohort 1291 pts (mean BMI 29); Higher BMI independently assoc w/ signif. lower odds for MDA (OR 0.97), also female, age, smoking, FM & Xray damage. https://t.co/zAJ8Pmk1HY
3. Epic Cosmos study of GLP-1RA Rxs in 3.5 million children (8–11 yrs) - very few 0.6% recv a GLP-1RA (20,282 kids) - Rx went from 0.03% (2019) to 9.3% (2026-310-fold incr). More likely in older, girls, obese kids. Most GLP-1 kids had severe obesity (93.7 percent) https://t.co/JW6SXxJjA0
4. 12 mos Danish study of 157 822 first-time semaglutide for obesity management (SOM) intiators. 77 483 discontinued treatment w/in 12 mos. (13% at 3 mo, 27% 6 mos, 39% @ 9 mos. D/C more likely in younger, men, low-income, on GI or psych meds, & pts with comorbididities. Few https://t.co/oJLnrxXFz0
5. Swedish study of 1097 #RA pts looked at modifiable healthy lifestyle habits (HLHs: EtOH use, smoking, physical activity). At Baseline, 56% had three HLHs , unchanged (58%) at Yr 3. Nonsmoking incr 77-83%, healthy alcohol from 85%-97%. but healthy PA decr 84-71%. Lifestyle modif. is an issue https://t.co/cDyQwiN6Ae
6. Meta-analysis 24 studies (3015 hidradenitis suppurativa pts) taking IL-17 inhibitor, IBD adverse events were rare, w/ no difference in IBD risk betw IL-17i & PBO (0.23% vs 0 of 2572 vs 1066 pts respectively) thru wk 16. The reported assocn of IL-17 inhibitors w/ IBD risk is questioned. https://t.co/kDwR5Fc1zI
7. Difficult PsA is called ‘difficult-to-manage’ (D2M) or ‘treatment-refractory’ dz (TRD). Data from 5 Nordic PsA registries 14,362 ps, D/Cs of ≥2/≥3/≥4 b/tsDMARDs in 36%/18%/10%. Freq of D2M low 2%/3%/3%, & TRD was 1.2%/1.2%/0.8%. Female #s, depression, & opioids incr w/ # of b/tsDMARD fails https://t.co/FkQU5BVRn2
8. RCT 451 chronic LBP in general practice shows 8-wk telehealth mindfulness reduced pain intensity and interference at 6 months compared with usual care, BUT changes did not meet the prespecified mean 1-point MCID between groups. Is it worth doing? https://t.co/H4oYTeq1is
9. Cohort analysis shows autoimmune rheum Dz (AIRD) pts who recv COVID vax w/ boosters & updates were 41%, 71%, and 69% less likely to have COVID-related hospitalization (vs no Vax). If only initial vaccine series (without booster/updated vaccine), risk reduction was 5.6%. (n= 60,980 US AIRD adults w/ COVID-19 12/2020 to 8/2024) https://t.co/NdEKKWdOAy
10. Leeds study of 44 patients idiopathic inflamm myopathy (IIM) pts Rx w/ rituximab showed a 70% response 4-6 mos post RTX. Responders had higher TIS (50·0 vs 17·5). Using highly sensitive flow cytometry, @ 2 wks responders had lower #s memory B cells & Plasmablasts. Is there a role for B-cell depletion in IIM?  https://t.co/HTxOIxkezs
11. Swedish Pt Registry of 4317 AAV pts showed GPA & MPA had signif incr risk of CV dz (HR 2.04) & thromboembolism (HR 2.45); males incr MI risk (HR 2.25) & females incr ischemic stroke risk (HR 1.64). Sibs had no excess CVD-TE risk. The highest CVD-TE risk occurred within 3 mos. of https://t.co/FdbIXoCZf0
12. Dutch single center study of ANCA tests (n 5518) betw 2012-2023; 286 (5.2%) were positive: 63% did not have AAV. ANCA+ Non-AAV pts had other CTD, neoplasia, infxn, or used specific drugs. IIF and ELISA 1st test - good negative predictive values. Performing a second test increased specificity. ANCA, MPO, PR3 titers were higher in AAV than non-AAV https://buff.ly/YpHEGIZ
13. ACP Position Statements on the Ethics of AI in Medical Practice
14. JAMA: Review of Adult Rheumatoid Arthritis
15. Check out our RheumIQ quiz