Nutrition/Obesity

Multinational metanalyses of 24 studies & 1,173,410 participants shows alcohol increases risk of hyperuricemia (OR 1.51) and gout (OR 1.81) - more so in males > females. Little effect of age, country, study type, type of alcohol, Dx criteria in regression analyses. https://t.co/NSYTppcKzV
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Dual pandemic in Africa. Increasing lifestyle diseases and obesity, along with infections and malnutrition. These may be reflected in rheumatic diseases too (if they could be studied in detail) #EULAR2025 @RheumNow https://t.co/6ulMRxX8az

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Bella Mehta @bella_mehta( View Tweet )
#EULAR2025 Abstr#OP0281 Not just shredding the weight but now also the pain! Another potential benefit of GLP-1 agonists - reducing symptoms of patients with Fibromyalgia. Propensity matched analysis using TrinetX database showed reduction on opiates, fatigue and pain @RheumNow https://t.co/oh6ecJmM5e

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Md Yuzaiful Md Yusof @Yuz6Yusof( View Tweet )
#D2M_axSpA_saga 🇬🇷 Prevalence of D2M axSpA in 395 patients: 10.1% Associated factors: 🔹️High disease activity at diagnosis 🔹️Comorbidities (high BMI, smoking, depression) 🔹️Unemployment Kougkas et al. POS#0121 #EULAR2025 @rheumnow https://t.co/vcPcTATTx5

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Nelly ZIADE 🍀 @Nellziade( View Tweet )
EULAR,poster

EULAR 2025 – Day 2 Report

Jack Cush, MD

Day 2 was a full agenda for those attending EULAR 2025 in Barcelona with sessions on the management of RA, Behcets, Lupus and Hand Osteoarthritis. Clinical overviews on MAS, Ehlers-Danlos, Difficult to treat RA and PsA offered a wide variety of options to rheumatologists. Here are a few

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🦵🏼💉LOSEIT study: liraglutide led to slight↑ in medial joint space width in knee OA vs placebo (0.22 vs 0.07 mm), but difference not statistically significant (p=0.17). More potent GLP-1RAs may be needed for greater improvement in structural knee OA @RheumNow #EULAR2025 #OP0223

Mrinalini Dey @DrMiniDey( View Tweet )

The American Heart Association just published their alcohol recommendations today which line up with the report by the National Academies. Moderate EtOH intake, up to 7 drinks per week (1/day), is without risk (and may be beneficial for cardiovascular outcomes) @American_Heart https://t.co/7c0IlmgZiv

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Eric Topol @EricTopol( View Tweet )
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MTX Fails Knee OA (6.6.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

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

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PPACMAN Consensus Recs. for CV risk in PSO/PSA published for Rheums/Derms/PCPs - check BP, Wt, Lipids, Cr. - Look for HTN, DM, smoking, obesity, metabolic synd. - Risk stratify w/ hsCRP, Lipids - Lifestyle management https://t.co/MkgYopTNAX https://t.co/fplKbua9Z2

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
PPACMAN Consensus Recs. for CV risk in PSO/PSA published for Rheums/Derms/PCPs - check BP, Wt, Lipids, Cr. - Look for HTN, DM, smoking, obesity, metabolic synd. - Risk stratify w/ hsCRP, Lipids - Lifestyle management https://t.co/MkgYopTNAX https://t.co/6yyxVIxpC0

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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Do SGLT2 and GLP-1 therapies have a role in Lupus?

Maya Shumyatcher, MD  Arpitha Haranahalli Shivarudrappa, PhD ,  Jennifer H. Anolik, MD, PhD

Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors (SGLT2i) and Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) were initially developed as glucose-lowering agents for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. Since their introduction, they have been noted to have a myriad of other benefits, including

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Risk Factors for Knee Osteoarthritis New research from the University of Sydney reveals that obesity, having a knee injury and occupational risks such as shift work and lifting heavy loads are primary causes of knee osteoarthritis. https://t.co/Kc686Zc8Xa https://t.co/ANyiE2pIxo

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
3-year, RCT of Mediteranean diet vs usual care in 924 older adults w/ metabolic syndrome & BMI > 27. Med. diet shows signif wt loss (3.4% vs 0.4%), w/ improved BMD (by DEXA) at year 3, especially in women. https://t.co/mllx6l1QnM https://t.co/I5e8PXX2oX

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
3-year, RCT of Mediteranean diet vs usual care in 924 older adults w/ metabolic syndrome & BMI > 27. Med. diet shows signif wt loss (3.4% vs 0.4%), w/ improved BMD (by DEXA) at year 3, especially in women. https://t.co/mllx6l1QnM https://t.co/CulO1Sschf

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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Vitamin D Headlines (5.9.2025)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports and lupus highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com. Triple positivity, the gut and CRPS, and hope for better outcomes with Vitamin D therapy. 

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Finish Birth Cohort followed since 1986, who were asymptomatic, found abnormal MRI knee findings, esp cartilage defects in the patellofemoral (56%) & tibiofemoral joints (25%) joints. Small/doubtful patellofemoral (52%) & tibiofemoral (17%) osteophytes seen. Most w/ High BMI. https://t.co/nQKREE4XfU
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
GLP-1 agonists effective in Rxing MASH - metabolic dysfunction-assoc steatohepatitis (AKA NAFLD, NASH). DBRPCT w/ 1100 pts (mean BMI 34-35). A good perspective article from Sensible Medicine. https://t.co/NeaX5qcnPA https://t.co/5DHlKfH105 https://t.co/sCfvcm7g54

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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D-Lay Trial: High-Dose Vitamin D Retards Multiple Sclerosis

Jack Cush, MD

A randomized clinical trial with oral high-dose cholecalciferol ( vitamin D3) was shown to prevent or delay the onset of clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), typical for multiple sclerosis (MS).

Vitamin D plays an important role in immune

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Finish Birth Cohort followed since 1986, who were asymptomatic, found abnormal MRI knee findings, esp cartilage defects in the patellofemoral (56%) & tibiofemoral joints (25%) joints. Small/doubtful patellofemoral (52%) & tibiofemoral (17%) osteophytes seen. Most w/ High BMI. https://t.co/LHqmRHM5wF
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
GLP-1 agonists effective in Rxing MASH - metabolic dysfunction-assoc steatohepatitis (AKA NAFLD, NASH). DBRPCT w/ 1100 pts (mean BMI 34-35). A good perspective article from Sensible Medicine. https://t.co/NeaX5qcnPA https://t.co/loRPcwv8B9 https://t.co/ul8ko9cU4K

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
D-Lay MS trial: DBRPCT of Oral cholecalciferol 100 000 IU q2wks x 24 mos.signif reduced Dz activity in clinically isolated syndr(CIS) & early relapsing-remitting MS typical for MS. Dz activity seen in 60% w/ Vit D vs 74% w/ PBO (HR 0.66). Also time to Dz activity (432 vs 224d; https://t.co/GQsnnuWS9R
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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Secondary Benefits to SGLT2 Inhibitor Use in SLE

Jack Cush, MD

An emulation trial of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in systemic lupus erythematosus patients yielded a significantly reduced risk of several cardiorenal complications among patients with SLE and type 2 diabetes.

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Metformin Effective in Osteoarthritis The diabetes drug metformin provided overweight/obese patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee with significantly greater pain relief than did placebo in a small randomized trial, researchers said. https://t.co/7krvFFfRFC https://t.co/XY5BtiXkOB

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Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Vitamin D for Prevention of Disease JAMA has published a clinical guideline on the use of vitamin D to prevent disease in children and adults. Guideline committee experts, included adult and pediatric endocrinology, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, nutrition, and https://t.co/zi3CpE0DVN
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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Metformin Effective in Osteoarthritis

MedPage Today

The diabetes drug metformin provided overweight/obese patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee with significantly greater pain relief than did placebo in a small randomized trial, researchers said.

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Comorbidities in RA: Focus on Difficult-to-Treat Disease

Elena Nikiphorou, MD, PhD
Puzzle pieces
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Comorbidities in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Precarious Stack of Blocks

Cynthia S. Crowson, PhD
stack of blocks

Comorbidities can pile up like a stack of blocks for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  At the time when RA is diagnosed, they already have more comorbidities than their peers, and after RA diagnosis they accumulate comorbidities faster than their peers.

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