Increased Polypharmacy in SLE Patients
A cross-sectional study of US adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) shows significantly increased prevalence of polypharmacy, related to age, disease outcomes and often, non-SLE common medications.
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Hopkins study of HCQ in discoid lupus (DLE) - 5 yr outcomes of 106 adult DLE; those on HCQ had less hyperlipidemia (HL), PAD, angina, & CAD. Parallel TriNetX study showed HCQ assoc w/ signif less HTN, HL, DM, CAD, & CVA. https://t.co/yX7FkGCnvR https://t.co/oddq68FYeE
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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Trends and Innovations in Lupus Nephritis Clinical Trials
Xu et al. from Shanghai University have written an analysis of global lupus nephritis (LN) clinical trials and call for innovation.
This systematic review of was informed by 200 interventional pharmacological trials https://t.co/fUTIMhMAis
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
LRA Awards for Immune Resetting Therapies in Lupus
Lupus Research Alliance
Lupus Research Alliance (LRA), the world’s largest private funder of lupus research, in collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced the inaugural recipients of
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Population cohort study of pregnancies from UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink, 5.2 million pregnancies, ~2.5 mill births. Incr risk for miscarriage in Sjögrens (aRR 1.66), C-sect in IBD (1.27), SGA in SLE (2.45), preterm birth in RA (1.53), stillbirth in SLE (1.82) & more https://t.co/IjtRTE2t78
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
30 yr Retrospective study of 1216 SLE hospitalizations in Barcelona - SLE flares & infections were most frequent. Hosp for infections signif. increased & in last 5yrs, exceeded Dz flares (34% vs. 26%). Younger pts had more flare hosp; older more infx hosp. Over time infx have https://t.co/TkUiXaoL1R
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Case-control study of 349 autoimmune (ARD) pts (SLE, RA, SSc) & serum assays for anti-neutrophil extracellular trap (aNET)Abs. aNET in 37% SLE assoc w/ APS (OR 3.4) & arterial thrombosis (OR 5.5). aNET in 40% RA assoc w/ ACPA+ (p=0.049) https://t.co/QwvmLAVmg7 https://t.co/VJ7JV5fcZE
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Trends and Innovations in Lupus Nephritis Clinical Trials
Xu et al. from Shanghai University have written an analysis of global lupus nephritis (LN) clinical trials and call for innovation.
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Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA-AMC) has recommended Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for public reimbursement. This recommendation is for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis who are receiving standard therapy https://t.co/TC1MVAShdC https://t.co/flXVmLwGtW
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) have been strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of lupus, as their primary product, type I interferon (IFN-I), drive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE). A recent comprehensive review synthesizes the https://t.co/VaE295a2Ep
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
True or False: In a Japanese study of refractory neuropsychiatric SLE, rituximab led to significant improvement in the majority of patients treated. See if you got it right at https://t.co/3F1h89Qrtw https://t.co/vx0ILsZ3WF
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Fatigue in SLE
An NIH lupus cohort study looked at fatigue in SLE and found associations with organ damage, obesity, but does not correlate with disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.
https://t.co/63JVDUwu88 https://t.co/3dPOThMbMD
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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
HCQ: 5 mg/kg/day Is Only the Starting Point
HCQ is one of the most important drugs in rheumatology, especially for SLE. It reduces flares, organ damage, cardiovascular events, and pregnancy complications, and it improves survival. Yet many clinicians still prescribe HCQ as if https://t.co/Fwr92tuZf2
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Quiz Talk (5.22.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush talks of birthdays, Quizzes and journal articles this week on the podcast.
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Does RTX work in CNS lupus? Japanese experience in 17 refractory NP-SLE pts Rx w/ RTX - 16/17 had significant improve. & 1 partial improvement -- none had NP-SLE relapse. Two died during COVID> https://t.co/GpCgpSxn37 https://t.co/PMz05MHBhj
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
A Role for Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Lupus
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) have been strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of lupus, as their primary product, type I interferon, drive systemic lupus erythematosus and cutaneous lupus erythematosus. A recent comprehensive review synthesizes the available data on pDCs, and,
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True or False: In a registry of SLE patients, RNP-positive patients showed lower disease activity and less prednisone use. If you think you know the answer, prove it in this week's RheumIQ quiz at https://t.co/DTabBEfjj9
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Early GI Involvement Predictive of Scleroderma Outcomes
Rheumatology has published a cohort study showing that earlyGI symptoms and overall symptom burden predict both GI progression and mortality in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc).
Hydroxychloroquine: 5 mg/kg/day Is Only the Starting Point
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is one of the most important drugs in rheumatology, especially for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It reduces flares, organ damage, cardiovascular events, and pregnancy complications, and it improves survival. Yet many clinicians still prescribe HCQ as
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Fatigue in SLE
An NIH lupus cohort study looked at fatigue in SLE and found associations with organ damage, obesity, but does not correlate with disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.
https://t.co/JEAnhMFJD8 https://t.co/sROKzsyISl
Links:
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Registry of 587 #SLE pts. 30% were RNP+ --> more dz activity than RNP- (SLEDAI-2 8.0 vs 4.0) and more Rx use (daily GC 6.8 vs 3 mg). RNP+ more renal, skin & serologic activity & less likely to LLDAS (20% vs 32%) or REM (12% vs 23%). RNP + 18-fold more likely to be Sm+ https://t.co/9i3BBGA0uu
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Meet the RheumNow #EULAR2026 Reporting Team
Delivering real-time insights from the forefront of rheumatology:
🩺 Dr. Antoni Chan (@synovialjoints)
🩺 Dr. Mrinalini Dey (@DrMiniDey)
🩺 Dr. Jiha Lee (@JihaRheum)
🩺 Dr. Aurelie Najm (@AurelieRheumo)
🩺 Dr. Janet Pope https://t.co/zpIeGWpL6P
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Toll-Like Receptor Drugs Effective in Cutaneous Lupus
Enpatoran, an investigational oral drug that inhibits Toll-like receptors (TLR) 7 and 8, was superior to placebo in relieving lupus skin manifestations in a dose-finding phase II trial.
https://t.co/R1wbJHXwjD https://t.co/65HtG0Te94
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Lupus Mortality Risk in Young Women
New research using death certificate data from 52,942 females, reveals that systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) is a leading cause of years of potential life lost among young women in the United States, underscoring the disease’s significant https://t.co/2FSINr6gZN
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Infectious Rheumatology (5.15.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush discusses his favorite journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Expert insights on the 2024 ACR Guideline recommendations for lupus nephritis
Sponsored by Aurinia
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
Dr. Cush provides a systematic approach to evaluating musculoskeletal and rheumatic complaints in clinical practice.
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Podcasts
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