News
Prevention in Lupus and Therapeutic Evolution in Sjögren’s
The notion of intervening in autoimmune disease prior to the onset of irreversible tissue damage has evolved beyond a theoretical framework; it is presently undergoing empirical evaluation. Recent discussions on incomplete lupus and the SMILE trial, alongside advances in Sjögren’s therapeutics, highlight both the promise and complexity of prevention and precision treatment in systemic autoimmunity.
What's New in Spondyloarthritis
Dr. Arthur Kavanaugh and Dr. Eric Ruderman gave an update on what's new in spondyloarthritis at the 2026 Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium (RWCS) in Maui, Hawaii. Here's a summary.
Disease Modification, Disparities and the Next Therapeutic Frontier in Gout
Gout management has entered what Dr. Robert Terkeltaub MD from UC San Diego described as its “disease-modifying era,” during his talk at RheumNow Live 2026. In a recent comprehensive review of the past, present, and future of gout therapy, the central message was clear: “We can really apply disease modification to gout based on prospective, randomized controlled trials.”
Maui Potpourri (2.13.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the hot item takeaways from last week's RheumNow.Live 2026.
Obesity, Surgery, and Optimizing Patient Care
Rheumatologic care involves multidisciplinary approaches and collaboration with specialties to treat complex, systemic diseases. While many Pods at RheumNow Live are disease specific, the Pod II focused on Advancing Practice on important and emerging areas affecting rheumatologic patients. This session focused on two major areas of need: obesity and peri-operative management.
Vasculitis
Sunday’s vasculitis session at RNL26 was a fantastic update on inflamed blood vessels, large and small, by two experts in the field: rheumatologist Dr. Mike Putman and dermatopathologist Dr. Clay Cockerell.
We are Doctors, Not Providers!
With apologies to Shakespeare, names are important. In health care, they can have ethical significance. The American College of Physicians has published a new ethics/position policy paper proclaiming that the term ‘provider’ should not be used to describe physicians, and using the blanket term undermines physicians’ ethical responsibility, clinical integrity, and professionalism.
Staying Ahead of Spondyloarthritis
The diagnosis and treatment of spondyloarthritis can present challenging clinical scenarios for rheumatologists. At RheumNow Live, Pod IV focused on "Staying Ahead of Spondyloarthritis", which reviewed diagnosis, complications and advances in SpA.
Advances in RA-ILD
Dr. Jeffrey Sparks gave a state of the art update on Advances in RA-ILD, many of which he and his group have played a big part in, on Saturday at RNL26.
ANA Pollution (2.06.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal articles and regulatory news from this past week on RheumNow.com
FDA vs. Amgen: At Odds Over Avacopan
MedPage Today
The FDA has requested that Amgen voluntarily withdraw avacopan (Tavneos), a treatment for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, but the company said it has no plans to pull the drug from the market.
ACR Applauds Recent Government Funding
ACR
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) today applauded the recent passage of the Congressional CY 26 funding package that includes several important provisions, including extending Medicare telehealth payment flexibilities, improving transparency in pharmacy benefit management (PBM) practices
ALTO: Long-Term Abatacept Outcomes in At-Risk RA
Lancet Rheumatology has published the ALTO results - long term outcomes of the APIPPRA trial, demonstrating that treatment with abatacept (ABA) in at risk patients can delay progression to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for up to 4 years.
