Dr. John Cush
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RHEUM SURVEY>> How do you assess cutaneous lupus activity or treatment responses? Click here>> https://t.co/1HWC4DV55h https://t.co/X8MUqjxqys
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Dr. Jack Cush reviews this week's news from RheumNow.com, including: placebo trumps controversial therapies, the dynamics of disease activity, fuse the big toe, and patients don’t appreciate being told “it's all in your head”!
Dr. John Cush
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EADV abstract showed daxdilimab (anti-ILT7; on plasmacytoid dendritic cells) was effective in mod-severe discoid lupus. Ph II RCT 72 refract. DLE RCT; DAX vs PBO - ↓ CLASI-A vs placebo @24 wks. wk 4 ≥50% CLASI-A ~62% vs 24% https://t.co/gJ4drxErGD https://t.co/TexG55dDBL
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On this week's podcast, Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news: Steroids are easy to start and hard to stop; hold the MTX but not the biologic or JAK, weighing in on avacopan, and age-old messages for old-age patients.
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Psoriatic arthritis is often underdiagnosed in those with psoriasis (PsO), leading to diagnostic delays an undertreatment. While certain factors in PsO portend a future PsA risk, a predictive profile and early intervention algorithm do not
Dr. John Cush
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Biogen announced the 52 week OL results of AMETHYST Phase 2/3 RCT of litifilimab in 93 #CLE pts. Betw wk 24 & 52, pts improved w/ clear skin (27.2%; CLA IGA 0-1) & 29% CLASI-70 (dz activity) https://t.co/61zxVhUwuj https://t.co/9oGXGcom2m
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van der Heijde et al have published the results of the phase 3 POETYK PsA-1 trial demonstrating that deucravacitinib was superior to placebo in clinical responses, patient-reported outcomes, and structural damage inhibition in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Dr. John Cush
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DERM on RheumNow PODCAST (September 2026)
The Derm on RheumNow podcast is a review of recent citations and content curated for dermatologists – addressing Psoriasis, PsA, CLE, calcinosis, CTD skin disorders. dermatology drugs, biologics, and JAK inhibitors. https://t.co/QYX9G5UFg5
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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Obesity is an incidental comorbidity in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). It is a modifiable, mechanistically active driver of disease onset, severity, and treatment failure. A new comprehensive review in RMD Open (Madsen et al., 2026) synthesizes 49 studies suggesting that weight management belongs in
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The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has published the results of the SUN Project study, showing that long-term adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) was associated with a substantially lower risk of incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but not psoriasis.
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Even before the introduction of incretin therapy and bariatric surgery, many randomized and interventional studies (2019–2026) have consistently showed that weight loss produces clinically meaningful, dose-dependent improvement in both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
Dr. John Cush
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NEJM images: Jaccoud’s arthropathy is a chronic, deforming;from laxity of the ligaments & tendons (not damage to bone & cartilage). Deformities are reducible & no erosions on Xray. Jaccoud’s mimics RA, but most seen w/ SLE. https://t.co/99WDNcpT5c https://t.co/77zAjpQh9A
Dr. John Cush
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Chinese retrospective study of 140 Bx proven Kikuchi-Fujimoto pts shows very few evolve into #SLE. While 60% were ANA+ (11.3% other autoAbs) - none developed SLE (median F/U 39mos). KFD is benign, self limiting necrotizing lymphadenitis usually in young women. https://t.co/Ai7W9GCBVb
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Cancer is a major cause of mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). A nested case-control study within EUSTAR registry shows distinct patterns of cancer related temporally to SSc, serologic profiles and traditional cancer risk factors.
Cancers were
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A secondary analysis of the VALOR trial has shown that the TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor brepocitinib was effective at cutaneous disease activity outcomes, delivering rapid, clinically meaningful, and remission-level control of cutaneous dermatomyositis (DM).
Dr. John Cush
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402 RA pts w. symptomatic Extra-articular manifestations (eg, neuropathy, KCS) had significant impairment in quality of life and work productivity, independent of disease activity. They had lower HAQ (0.92 vs 0.68) & more Absenteeism https://t.co/1FH9gyxoxK https://t.co/faToGXpdSQ
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A EUVAS-sponsored expert panel of 37 specialists across rheumatology, nephrology, dermatology and pathology has published evidence-based guidelines for adult-onset IgA vasculitis (IgAV), which behaves very differently in adults compared to usually self-limited childhood form.
Dr. John Cush
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SLE & Dermatomyositis rashes maybe classically red or violaceous in Whites,but different in people of color, where erythema often appears brown/violaceous, Gottron papules can be mistaken for "dry skin." This delays dx, especially in anti-MDA5+ RP-ILD, where rash may be the https://t.co/DIe2OJhZIc
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Dr. Cush reviews the news and journal articles from this past week on RheumNow.com; talking about lumbar belts, scholarships and misdiagnosis.
Dr. John Cush
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MASLD - Spanish review of 330 pts (101 psoriasis, 127 PsA, 102 controls) found metabolic-dysfunc-assoc steatotic liver Dz in 48% PsO, 32% PsA, 9% controls (p < 0.001). FibroScan tended higher in PsO 6.01 PsA 5.1 vs 4.9 controls https://t.co/wPxbLwVlOW https://t.co/ZtqYX5HPZa
Dr. John Cush
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Can Effective Psoriasis Therapy Prevent Psoriatic Arthritis?
A review article assesses and integrates mechanistic, imaging, and clinical evidence to examine whether effective treatment of psoriasis may modify the future risk of psoriatic arthritis (PsA). https://t.co/3gnV3eaKiu
Dr. John Cush
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SLE & Dermatomyositis rashes maybe classically red or violaceous in Whites,but different in people of color, where erythema often appears brown/violaceous, Gottron papules can be mistaken for "dry skin." This delays dx, especially in anti-MDA5+ RP-ILD, where rash may be the https://t.co/Savx5IOTcG
Dr. John Cush
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A Case of Sweet Syndrome
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This overview appeared in JAMA Dermatology.
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With their publication in June 2022 (1), the 3rd iteration of the Group for Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) Treatment recommendations for Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) may have set a record or sorts.
Pain is typically ranked by both patients and physicians as the most important symptom of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) to assess and treat. Although the predominant concept of the etiology of pain in PsA is that of inflammation in peripheral joints, entheses, and bone signaling through peripheral nociceptive fibers, perceived as pain in the central nervous system, it is actually more complex than that. The ability of a treatment to ameliorate pain is one of the principle measures of its effectiveness. Thus pain improvement or worsening are key determinants of shared decision making about treatment in PsA.
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Patient TS was a 30 year old woman who had been living with psoriatic arthritis for about 18 months. Her symptoms had started about 6 months after the birth of her first child with mild psoriasis in her scalp but increasing joint pain in her hands, wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles. She had dactylitis in several fingers that caused her extreme pain.
