GI/Liver

20-40% of Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is associated with other autoimmune diseases - lead by autoimmune thyroiditis, type 1 DM, ulcerative colitis, Crohn disease, & celiac (but less so for RA, PBC, SLE, Sjögren syndrome, vitiligo). AIH Dx Abs include ANA, ASMA, LKM1. https://t.co/FphWZwwohx
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Cush and Kavanaugh

ACR 2025 Rheumatology Round Up

Jack Cush, MD

Drs. Jack Cush & Arthur Kavanaugh, two of rheumatology’s most trusted voices, provide a breakdown of the latest breakthroughs and hottest topics in rheumatology from the 2025 ACR Convergence meeting in Chicago.

Read Article
Fighting fire with butyrate 🔥🚒 ♦️probiotics and prebiotics Dr. Nisha Manek on inflammation and butyrate - it reduces gut inflamm thru the NFKB pathway #ACR25 @RheumNow https://t.co/19XTrKn1iN

Links:

sheila @RHEUMarampa( View Tweet )
microbiome,blue

Microbiome may hold key to methotrexate response in RA

Mrinalini Dey, MD

Methotrexate (MTX) remains the cornerstone of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment, yet it remains unclear as to how to predict who will respond to it. Two studies presented at ACR (Abstracts 2639 and 2643) suggest the answer may be hiding in the gut.

Read Article
Gut microbiome on Urate metabolism study- 1500 men and women. From 3 cohorts- Framingham, nurses health and men's lifestyle with blood and stool data Focused on 5 urate metbolizing genes Abst#2590 #ACR25 @RheumNow https://t.co/YxBb3WfcbB

Links:

Bella Mehta @bella_mehta( View Tweet )
Dr. John Stone on IgG4RD ⬆️ common in males ⬆️internal organ involvement 🔸Mimics cancer 🔸Indolence makes it dangerous —-> organ complications Diagnosis highly dependent on the rheumatologist based on clinical features, serologies, imaging & pathological data #ACR25 @Rheumnow https://t.co/St4EbA7Dcj

Links:

sheila @RHEUMarampa( View Tweet )
In case you have a (gut) feeling something’s off… Abstract 2315: The gut microbiome in #SpA 🔬 ⬆️ Proteobacteria (incl. Escherichia spp) ⬇️ Firmicutes (“good” bacteria) Higher disease activity ↔️ lower alpha diversity @RheumNow #ACR25

Akhil Sood MD, MS @AkhilSoodMD( View Tweet )

In a cohort of 269,304 IBD patients, NSAID use showed a small increase in IBD-related hospitalisation (HR 1.08), meeting non-inferiority threshold (HR <1.2). No risk in UC (HR 0.96); modest risk in Crohn’s (HR 1.16). Relooks at the current paradigm of blanket NSAID avoidance in https://t.co/O8MWg1BP50

Links:

Antoni Chan MD (Prof) @synovialjoints( View Tweet )
Mayer et al. NSAIDs in IBD. Retrospective cohort study. 250000 individuals. Non-inferiority study. No increased IBD-related hospitalisation in UC, but an increase in all-cause hospitalisation. @RheumNow #ACR25 Abstr#1434 https://t.co/he2Xmcqslk

Links:

Richard Conway @RichardPAConway( View Tweet )
RheumNow Podcast square

Pre-ACR25 (10.24.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and info reports the day before ACR 2025

Read Article
5–10% of axSpA [ts jave comorbid IBD. Southern Swedish study 152 (r- & nr-) axSpA pts found elevated fecal calprotectin (≥ 50 mg/kg) & this was assoc. w/ more damage w/ higher mSASSS values for all axSpA (adj OR 2.2) & in r-axSpA (adj OR 2.9) https://t.co/Hi1lE4so1r https://t.co/YYCGYYasfL

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
A high ANA titer (≥1:640) in individuals without an autoimmune disease was found to be strongly associated with liver-related disorders, including nonalcoholic and alcoholic liver disease Arthritis Care & Research https://t.co/tkMpPFPnhc https://t.co/Bk9JXWTsOU

Links:

ACR_Journals @ACR_Journals( View Tweet )
RheumNow Podcast square

Bad Actor Cofactor (10.17.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports, discusses pediatric reports, pregnancy data, diet and nutrition and more.

Read Article
Pregnancy Management in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Global Consensus Consensus guidance on the management of pregnancy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was simultaneously published in six international journals, including The American Journal of https://t.co/F6er2mpUoV
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
MSK Manifestations in Pediatric IBD Arthritis and musculoskeletal (MSK) symptoms may accompany pediatric-onset inflammatory bowel diseases (pIBD) as an extra-articular intestinal manifestation, but may vary in presentation and clinical course. https://t.co/VoU3itr0EM https://t.co/ar19JdrsHH

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
pregnant, pregnancy, mother, fertility

Pregnancy Management in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Global Consensus

Jack Cush, MD

Consensus guidance on the management of pregnancy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was simultaneously published in six international journals, including The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Read Article
juvDM1.jpg

MSK Manifestations in Pediatric IBD

Jack Cush, MD

Arthritis and musculoskeletal (MSK) symptoms may accompany pediatric-onset inflammatory bowel diseases (pIBD) as an extra-articular intestinal manifestation, but may vary in presentation and clinical course.

Read Article
RheumNow Podcast square

Eating Crow (10.10.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, FDA approvals, and journal articles. In this episode: HMGCR Abs, FDA approvals and Cush eats crow.

Read Article
Guselkumab (Tremfya) 1st IL-23 inhibitor to be FDA approved for subcutaneous induction in adults with ulcerative colitis https://t.co/KaZVzyomeY

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

JAK Janus

Equal Safety of JAK Inhibitors and TNF Inhibitors

Jack Cush, MD

JAMA has published a systematic review and meta-analysis of head-to-head studies showing there was no meaningful difference in safety events observed when taking either JAK inhibitor (JAKi) vs TNF antagonist (TNFi) therapies for the treatment of immune-

Read Article
Controversies in ILD Join leading experts as they tackle complex topics: IPAF, MTX, SARD vs. CTD, and anti-fibrotic therapy. 📅 Sep 16, 2025 | ⏰ 7 PM ET Jeffrey Sparks, MD | Janet Pope, MD | Elena Joerns, MD Moderator: Jack Cush, MD 👉 Register: https://t.co/O4FQNyGeTr https://t.co/jIfjuWWNvp

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
SPRING-SIR Italian registry of systemic sclerosis: 1917 SSc pts, 56% had GI Sx, assoc w/ longer Dz duration, more severe Dz, diffuse SSc, ILD, digital ulcers, telangiectasias, & tobacco. In 211 very early SSc, 41% GI Sxs (most esophageal), w/ puffy fingers, & dyspnea. https://t.co/l2hStwavuu
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
RheumNow Podcast square

Sjögren's Graduates (8.22.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports, FDA approvals, drug safety, and more from this week.

Read Article
Systematic review of 47 studies covering 1.5 million cases found that Dx of Crohns, SLE, Type I DM positively associated w/ incr risk of pancreatic, esophageal, colon, liver, and hepatobiliary cancers. MS assoc w/ lower risk of pancreatic, esophageal, rectal, & colorectal CA https://t.co/g0N5eHhJYj
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
IBS in America Despite advances, IBS remains a burden for many millions. A new AGA-sponsored survey conducted by The Harris Poll, a Stagwell (STGW) agency, reveals that IBS symptoms disrupt patients’ productivity and personal activities 19 days each month, impacting both https://t.co/lCV0ZKdq18
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Recent Blogs

Best of 2022: The Contribution of the Gut Microbiome and Diet to Joint Inflammation in PsA

Christopher Ritchlin, MD, MPH
abdominal-pain-2821941_640.jpg
Interactions of the gut microbiota in humans promote the release of a variety of metabolites with profound effects on human health and immune regulation. Read Post

Best of 2022: Methotrexate in PsA

Philip Mease, MD
Methotrexate
Until the publication of the SEAM trial, evidence in the medical literature for the efficacy of the most commonly used drug for psoriatic arthritis worldwide, methotrexate, has been lukewarm at best. Yet we all employ it commonly, either as monotherapy or in combination with biologic or targeted synthetic DMARD treatment. It is inexpensive and widely available, and only modestly toxic. Read Post
How well do you know this week's rheumatology news?
Take the rheumIQ quiz
Take the RheumIQ Quiz

×