Lupus

TLR

Review of Toll-like Receptor Research

EurekAlert!

A new review on Toll-like receptors (TLRs) systematically summarizes forty years of discoveries in the TLR field, from the initial identification of Toll in Drosophila embryonic development to the current understanding

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A Patient’s Plea for a New Paradigm in Autoimmune Disease

Jack Cush, MD

A current article in Nature Reviews Rheumatology has a patient boldly asking why we rheumatologists aren't more like her oncologists?

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Anifrolumab (Saphnelo) approved in the US for subcutaneous self-administration as a new autoinjector for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus based on SC-TULIP study. Presumeably, all prior CRL issues resolved to FDA satisfaction... https://t.co/ZtZmJLcGYa https://t.co/4B2YDpFaep

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Which autoimmune condition carries the highest relative risk for lymphoma? Test your knowledge in the latest RheumIQ quiz at https://t.co/TBlB4pmnKa https://t.co/sx8fpdHgHN

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Twofold Mortality in SLE Despite declining incidence of lupus, mortality for SLE was twice that of controls in this large incident cohort study. https://t.co/Sv7XMnLT3J https://t.co/CURPZ5cYgt

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
FDA has accepted Genetech application for obinutuzumab (Gazyva) to treat SLE (currently only approved for lupus nephritis) - based on Phase III ALLEGORY study w/ Gazyva showing signif reduced dz activity https://t.co/louTYyN6bN https://t.co/Hy1gGliamn

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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Follow the Money (4.23.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush follows the money and all the news that fits the Rheumatology Gab for this past week. 

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Twofold Mortality in SLE

Jack Cush, MD

Despite declining incidence of lupus, mortality for SLE was twice that of controls in this large incident cohort study.

Ethnicity is a strong predictor of incidence and outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. This population study used the UK Clinical Practice

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Severe thrombocytopenia (TP) assoc w/ severe APS & increased mortality. Retro study of 432 #APS pts - 142 w/ TP (33%): 13% severe TP (<50L G/L). Severe TP assoc w/ ITP & CAP -had higher mortality https://t.co/p0bvLKupUe

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

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Prescribing Lessons (4.17.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

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

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Litifilimab in Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Biogen has announced positive results of their Phase 2 study, evaluating litifilimab in patients with active cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), presented at the recent American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting. https://t.co/3Wb6iFViOm
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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Litifilimab in Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus

Jack Cush, MD

Biogen has announced positive results of their Phase 2 study, evaluating litifilimab in patients with active cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), presented at the recent American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting.

Litifilimab is an investigational monoclonal antibody that

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Screening High Risk Myositis Patients for Cancer

Jack Cush, MD

An Italian retrospective study of 411 idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) patients applied IMACS criteria to assess the risk of cancer and found significantly more cancers in those at high risk.

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Couldn’t attend https://t.co/4UQlqwujiR 2026? You can now watch the entire meeting On Demand. This high-impact program features leading experts discussing: • RA outcomes and pathogenesis • Obesity, inflammation, and rheumatic disease • Treatment decisions in Psoriatic https://t.co/A3wb3pzbl3

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Danish real-world study anifrolumab use in 36 #SLE pts. SLEDAI-2K decreased from 8 (baseline) to 2 @ mos 3; @6 mos 52% had SLEDAI-2K=0. 87% had PGA ≤0.5 w/ LLDAS, & 70% DORIS remission. Pred use declined by >50%. Herpes infx were most freq AE https://t.co/gNIAoXplMt https://t.co/D6xhQrY8ep

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
UK Our Future Health study of 1,563,155 finds affective Dz (depression, bipolar, anxiety) signific higher (p<0.001)in autoimmune pts vs gen. pop. (29% vs 18%) - dx by PHQ-9, GAD-7. (OR 1.86), even after adjustments income and pain, etc. https://t.co/HoKBeAZxbS https://t.co/NtJhaf7WCo

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Asia-Pacific Lupus study of Mucocutaneous activity (MC-A) in 4102 SLE pts. 36% had MC-A (rash 1055; alopecia 731; m ulcers 352); 15% persistently. MC-A assoc w/ W, smoking, +serologies, vasculitis, myositis, serositis, nephritis, NP-SLE https://t.co/XeBc4DJon9 https://t.co/n2wAq2OIGt

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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Top Four and More (4.10.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from RheumNow.com this week - including his top four favorite subjects.

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Danish real-world study anifrolumab use in 36 #SLE pts. SLEDAI-2K decreased from 8 (baseline) to 2 @ mos 3; @6 mos 52% had SLEDAI-2K=0. 87% had PGA ≤0.5 w/ LLDAS, & 70% DORIS remission. Pred use declined by >50%. Herpes infx were most freq AE https://t.co/tbMOyOioeU https://t.co/jDJgImjgQt

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
UK Our Future Health study of 1,563,155 finds affective Dz (depression, bipolar, anxiety) signific higher (p<0.001)in autoimmune pts vs gen. pop. (29% vs 18%) - dx by PHQ-9, GAD-7. (OR 1.86), even after adjustments income and pain, etc. https://t.co/HoKBeAZxbS https://t.co/LnC4lqqgq7

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Retrospective study of 1st SLE pregnancies from LUNA Registry. Fetal loss was associated w/ aPL (OR 2.46) & pulse steroids (2.46), but not w/ SSA Abs (1.32). 247 pregs, 194 live births, 53 fetal loss. Ro+ vs Ro- no difference in live births or preterm births https://t.co/bsMMvVyffw
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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What’s New PsA? (4.3.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and major articles from this week, including FDA safety warnings, reports from AAD, PsA trials.

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A retrospective cohort study of 195 renal Bx from 135 Lupus Nephritis pts, Mod-Severe interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) strongly assoc w/non-renal response & ESRD progression (HR 8.9) (also w/ age, SLE duration, prior LN flares, higher chronicity index) https://t.co/773xsk6IHZ
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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Moral Distress (3.27.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the journal reports and news from RheumNow.com.  This week we discuss moral distress, FM in PsA, Lyme Vax is back & hidden but tangible benefits of the MDHAQ.

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Predictors of Response in Lupus A systematic review suggests that traditional measures (serologies and disease activity) are superior to biomarkers in predicting response to biologics in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. https://t.co/7YuYpoDctR https://t.co/J5VLrkDQ6G

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Therapeutic Updates

Expert insights on the 2024 ACR Guideline recommendations for lupus nephritis

Sponsored by Aurinia
Aurinia 2026 May RX Update
Two experts in lupus care offer a balanced perspective on applying the updated ACR Guideline recommendations and the clinical nuances of managing lupus nephritis.
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Recent Blogs

Advanced Practice Rheum

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Jack Cush, MD
APR SLE VIDEO COVER
Dr. Cush reviews systemic lupus erythematosus.
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Advanced Practice Rheum

Evaluation of Rheumatic Complaints

Jack Cush, MD
Eval of Rheum Complaints Cover Image
Dr. Cush provides a systematic approach to evaluating musculoskeletal and rheumatic complaints in clinical practice.
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rheumthought

CNS Lupus (NPSLE)

Jack Cush, MD
Cush RhTh CNS
29 yr. old woman with SLE and transverse myelitis. Is this NPSLE; how to diagnose?
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