Labs/Biomarkers

Evidence of immune ageing detected at the earliest stages of RA. Study of 69 controls, 32 CSA, 44 undiff. arthritis (UA), 23 early RA, & 56 DMARD naive RA. UA & CSA had reduced naive CD4 T cells. Th17, Tregs &7 senescent T cells, were only seen once RA was established. https://t.co/c1wiA5gvM5
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
In lupus patients presenting with demyelinating symptoms, consider a probable disease overlap between NPSLE and NMOSD. >>>> serum AQP4 is highly specific for NMOSD. @RheumNow #APLAR25 @rheumarhyme @marklagacmd https://t.co/2Z8rbJ3a1c

Links:

sheila @RHEUMarampa( View Tweet )
Peter Taylor on extra articular manifestations of RA Keep an eye on RA patients’ glomerular function RA patients have increased risk of CKD Systematic review >1million pts Risk Ratio 1.52 @RheumNow #APLAR25 https://t.co/5iZwtmvwSR

Links:

Aurelie Najm @AurelieRheumo( View Tweet )
Flow cytometry on Peripheral blood can help patient stratification in RA A cluster rich in TEMRA Terminally Differentiated Effector Memory T Cells is associated with response to treatment and therapeutic decision taking into account showed higher remission 39% vs. 24% Next https://t.co/8ZZ2epf7LK

Links:

Aurelie Najm @AurelieRheumo( View Tweet )
Cross-sectional study of 320 dermatomyositis (198 classic DM, 122 amyopathic DM/CADM) & compared myositis panels for ANA, MSA, MAA, etc. Comparing CDM vs CADM - ANA pos in 63% vs 49%, p<0.05; MSA+ 47% vs 40% (NS); MAA+ 29% vs 26%(NS); MSA&MAA neg 40% vs 48% (NS)

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

RheumNow Podcast square

RheumNow Podcast – Ro, Ro, Ro52 (9.12.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. Are there benefits to diet or vegan diets? What's the effect of menopause on CTD?  Ro52 makes a big entrance with all our ILD coverage this month.

Read Article
MTX.box

SMART study - Single vs. Split Dose Methotrexate in RA

Jack Cush, MD

Split dose weekly, oral methotrexate (MTX) was shown to be superior to single dose MTX in treating active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Read Article
#APLAR2025 Prof Peter Taylor RA patients have ⬆️ rates of CKD https://t.co/DZl9qpbLhH

Links:

Dr Gurdeep S Dulay @gurdeep_dulay( View Tweet )
guidelines.recommendations.jpg

ERS/EULAR guidelines for CTD-related interstitial lung disease

Jack Cush, MD

The European Respiratory Society (ERS) and European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) have published clinical practice guidelines for the evaluation and management of connective tissue diseases (CTD) associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) in two simultaneous publications in

Read Article
What’s new in RA Pathogenesis in #APLAR25 by Ellen Gravellese Take home message: there is still hope for synovial biopsies to be a biomarker for prediction of response to treatment As a synovial biopsy expert, I am not convinced of this one, but time will tell @APLAR_org https://t.co/EEw5ncKa1r

Links:

Aurelie Najm @AurelieRheumo( View Tweet )
Elevated serum levels of interleukin-18 discriminate Still's disease from other autoinflammatory conditions. Sera from 53 mSAID, 220 guSAID, 49 controls show IL-18 signif increased in Still's Dz; free IL-18 levels were selectively higher in Still's disease. https://t.co/8IWXWZmWgE
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Prospective study of 171 suspected Sjogrens (130 dx w/ SjD) pts compared Dx accuracy - Labial gland Bx best Dx efficacy (AUC 0.90), followed Ro/SSA (AUC 0.79), Omeract score (AUC 0.78). Salv gland US grade 3 strongly predicted +Bx (AUC 0.77) & correlated w/ salivary flow ~-0.5

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

RA.Ow02.jpg

Multimorbidity predicts flares in rheumatoid arthritis

Jack Cush, MD

A study from Olmstead county and the Mayo Clinic shows that multimorbidity  and social factors predict higher rheumatoid arthritis (RA) flares and lower remission rates.

Read Article
RheumNow Podcast square

September to Remember (9.5.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from RheumNow. This week - unemployment, diagnosing Sjogren's and a lot of ILD.

Read Article
EHR analysis of Alaska Tribal Health System finds the prevalence of Sjögren's disease at 199 per 100K adults (primary SjD 129; secondary 70 (RA,SLE)). The age-adjusted incidence 16.6 per 100K Pt-Yrs. Only 5% had salivary gland Bx & 3% met 2016 ACR/EULAR or 2012 ACR criteria https://t.co/4tMdWIGTEi
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Biomarkers in ILD Join Elena K. Joerns, MD, as she highlights key insights on the role of biomarkers in ILD. Sponsored By: Boehringer Ingelheim. https://t.co/Mxg9P50m7C #ILD #Rheumatology https://t.co/tQUvwHD5cX

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Elevated serum levels of interleukin-18 discriminate Still's disease from other autoinflammatory conditions. Sera from 53 mSAID, 220 guSAID, 49 controls show IL-18 signif increased in Still's Dz; free IL-18 levels were selectively higher in Still's disease. https://t.co/oAd3JwDR5D
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
lung%2Cbright.jpg

Multi-omics, biomarkers, rheumatoid arthritis and pulmonary fibrosis

Jack Cush, MD

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease, and approximately 30%-40% of patients develop pulmonary complications such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), but the causal relationship between the two has long been unclear. A team from Taizhou Hospital in Zhejiang Province

Read Article
High cancer risk in myositis patients linked to autoantibodies- TIFF1g, NXP2, HMGCR. https://t.co/CECO78ESHi
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Long-term Lab Monitoring in RA is Inefficient Annals of Internal Medicine has published a retrospective study of long-term routine laboratory toxicity monitoring (lt-RLTM) in patients receiving disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy showing that most very abnormal https://t.co/hytyH1qqED
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Might systemic autoimmune Dz related anti-protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5). ELISA study of 33 SSc, 87 RA, & 31 controls. Vs controls, anti-PRMT5 Abs seen in SSc (48% vs 0; AUC 0.9) & RA (15% vs 0; AUC 0.768). PRMT5 Abs signif assoc w/ ILD & ANA positivity. https://t.co/svjjtQQsIY
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
MUC5 mutations not in SSc-ILD. Study of 2363 SSc-ILD, 3526 SSc w/o ILD & 15076 controls. They found no assoc w/ MUC5B promoter variant & SSc-ILD. (Suggesting ILD pathogenic mechanisms differ between RA and SSc) https://t.co/bBq52X0Mwq https://t.co/eu1IpaXGL8

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
RheumNow Podcast square

ILD Begins (8.29.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from RheumNow.com. This week news on vaccines, safety of acetaminophen and more.

Read Article
labs2.jpg

Long-term Lab Monitoring in RA is Inefficient

Jack Cush, MD

Annals of Internal Medicine has published a retrospective study of long-term routine laboratory toxicity monitoring (lt-RLTM) in patients receiving disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy showing that most very abnormal laboratory finding occur early in therapy (first 6 months) or

Read Article
RHEUM Survey: How important is "Seropositivity" in RA?

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Recent Blogs

CNS Lupus (NPSLE)

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

Unpopular opinion: spinach can be bad for you

Lara El Khoury, MD
pro con unsure opinion thumbs debate
PMR might be one of the most rewarding diagnoses to make in real practice: the patient comes to you in severe debilitating pain, and you prescribe steroids, giving them their lives back! As much as this impressive response makes your intervention appear almost magical, there is the often-forgotten story about the implications of such a diagnosis and treatment on patients' daily lives.  Read Post
How well do you know this week's rheumatology news?
Take the rheumIQ quiz
Take the RheumIQ Quiz

×