Vitamin D Headlines (5.9.2025)
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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Turkish study of 1263 primary care referrals to rheumatology found 35.7% with inflammatory rheumatic Dz (IRD), 17.7% osteoarthritis, and 11.2% regional pain syndromes. Another German study showed low risk of IRD if CRP <5 https://t.co/v5qYb7c7jP https://t.co/iq4NfcC3cH https://t.co/6lkTMSBUqc
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Periprosthetic femoral Fx (PPFF): metanalysis of 36 studies found PPFF risk factors: Uncemented stems (OR 3.36), major teaching hosp (2.0), female (1.6), obesity (1.4), Hi comorbidity(1.4), RA (1.89), (1.67), revised THR (2.6). OA = protective (0.51) https://t.co/y2BpH8LUb6 https://t.co/EjX6R9QTK3
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
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/PtyLU6jBkp
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Risk Factors for Knee Osteoarthritis
EurekAlert!
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.
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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 )
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 )
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/g1UyNjazUv
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Keys to Mastery (5.2.2025)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, articles and drug approvals from the past week on RheumNow.com. This podcast marks the beginning of our Lupus Campaign called "Lupus Unlocked: Keys to Mastery". This month's campaign on Lupus is sponsored by Aurinia.
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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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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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Metanalysis suggests MTX may be effective in knee OA. 6RCTs, 602 pts of MTX vs PBO, showed MTX significantly relieved pain (mean diff −0.44; P 0.0003) knee/hand OA; Functional improved for knee only, but no differences in quality-of-life outcome or adverse events https://t.co/lmBEnTLFHY
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Rheumatology: Believe It or Not (4/25/2025)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com. Should we believe the reviews and metanalyses?
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Senescent "Zombie" Cells and Low Back Pain
EurekAlert!
In a preclinical study led by McGill University researchers, two drugs targeting “zombie cells” have been shown to treat the underlying cause of chronic low back pain. The condition affects millions of
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Osteoarthritis Risky Business (4.18.2025)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and Journal reports from this week on RheumNow. Osteoarthritis patients have unique risks and synovial fluid WBC numbers can tell you when to worry about septic arthritis in gout and pseudogout patients. https://t.co/T9KGoOBANN
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2001–2015 Danish national health registry study of 1.8 million adults, including 290,781 w/ knee or hip #OA & 1.5 million age-, sex-, education-matched controls. Women w/ knee or hip OA had 44% higher risk of CV Dz (HR 1.44), while men w/ HOA/KOA lesser incr (HR 1.24) CV risk https://t.co/C3ZHZiM38T
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Genomics and Future Drug Targets for Osteoarthritis
A Nature article details the results of an osteoarthritis, genome-wide association study meta-analyses across up to 489,975 cases and 1,472,094 controls, establishing 962 independent associations, 513 of which have not been https://t.co/OYyePkAeAM
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Osteoarthritis Risky Business (4.18.2025)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and Journal reports from this week on RheumNow.com. Osteoarthritis patients have unique risks and synovial fluid WBC numbers can tell you when to worry about septic arthritis in gout and pseudogout patients.
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Genomics and Future Drug Targets for Osteoarthritis
EurekAlert!
A Nature article details the results of an osteoarthritis, genome-wide association study meta-analyses across up to 489,975 cases and 1,472,094 controls, establishing 962 independent associations, 513 of which have not been previously reported. Results were published this week in the journal
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EMR Messaging Woes (4.11.2025)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports and regulatory approvals from this past week on RheumNow.com
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Shanghai hospital retrospective cohort study of 249 pts w/ post-Unilat TKA & lat knee pain. 144 Rx w/ IA steroids vs 105 Rx w/ PO meds. Infection rate w/in 6 mos post-TKA found no signif difference (2.1% vs 2.9%); Injx pts had signif better pain relief, QOL & knee function (KSS) https://t.co/ULVO6KU7pn
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Diagnostically, Xrays are effective & sufficient at Diagnosing chronic low back pain; X-rays predicted MRI results in approximately 75% of the cases for common low back pain problems suggesting they may be a preferred initial imaging study for this condition. https://t.co/PYzd1zXIRz
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Yoga vs Strengthening Exercise in Knee Osteoarthritis
A randomized clinical trial in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients showed both yoga and strengthening improved knee pain over 12 weeks, with no difference between groups.
There is limited evidence on the comparative effectiveness of yoga and strengthening
ACP: Best Practice Advice on Cannabis or Cannabinoids Use for Chronic Noncancer Pain
The American College of Physicians published a best practice advisory on cannabis or cannabinoids in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Joint Implant Metals May Be Leaking
MedPage Today
Patients with metal-containing joint replacements had significantly higher concentrations of cobalt in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) relative to patients without arthroplasties, researchers reported.
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