General Rheumatology

Adult co-twin study of 1261 pairs, 1/2 Rx w/ metformin. Although metformin Rx Twin had higher BMI, they had significantly less incident peripheral OA (adjusted HR 0.60; 0.44–0.82). @ 10 yrs, 6.7% of treated twins, vs 9.7% of non-treated twins had incident OA, with difference of https://t.co/7KpiGssFSo
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Congratulations to Dr. Proton Raman - a world class rheumatologist and research scientist!!! https://t.co/ofzGLsofi0

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Best of 2025: 2025 BSR Guideline for Treatment of Axial Spondyloarthritis The British Society of Rheumatology's 2025 Guidelines for treating axSpa focus on both axial and extra-musculoskeletal issues like uveitis, psoriasis, and IBD. They evaluate the effectiveness and safety of https://t.co/fxFcqy13g7
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Comorbidity and Health Management: Tuesday Night Rheumatology Join panelists Vanessa Hill, NP-C, Lindsay Tom, PA-C, Barb Slusher, MSW, PA-C and Jack Cush, MD as they discuss comorbidity and health management in rheumatic disease. https://t.co/3KMgBW1Q4W https://t.co/4dVfKd7uy5

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Obesity and Low Back Pain

EurekAlert!

A large patient population study finds weight gain,  increases risk for low back pain - the risk increased 7% for every BMI unit or 10 pounds over ideal weight. 

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APP Pearls “It’s okay not to “fix” the complaint right away. Validate the patient, then watch and wait when appropriate. The urge to intervene quickly without confidence can be dangerous. See the patient back, keep listening, & continue good history-taking” - Jeannette Hart PA-C

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couple holding hands with baby shoes

Assess Reproductive Health in SLE Clinic Visits

Jun Chu , MSN, CRNP

Due to the complexity of SLE, rheumatology providers should take an active role in assessing reproductive health, providing education on how SLE may affect pregnancy, and taking a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach with the patient’s gynecologist.

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APP Pearls “It’s important to explain the difference between an overreactive immune system vs. a weakened immune system” - Miguel Rodriguez, ANP

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"It's suppose to be hard, if it wasn't hard everyone would do it. Hard is what makes it great! - Tom Hanks in "League of Their Own"

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Best of 2025: Targeting Obesity in Rheumatic Disease Patients Sattar et al. has published an informative overview of the effect of obesity on rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). They estimate that nearly 70% of RMD patients are overweight or obese. https://t.co/aPGuYFCWLo
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Best of 2025: GRAPPA vs. EULAR on Complex/Difficult-to-Manage Psoriatic Arthritis Following the establishment of formal definitions for Difficult-to-Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis (D2T RA) by EULAR and Difficult-to-Manage axial Spondyloarthritis (D2M axSpA) by ASAS, the “Difficult” https://t.co/hFejdS4sjk
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APP Pearls “Ensure a patient understands the weekly dosing instructions for methotrexate” - Ben Smith, DMSc, PA-C

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Comprehensive review of the management of knee osteoarthritis - topicals, analgesics, narcotics, intraarticular, metabolic, nutraceuticals, TENS, acupuncture and biologics. https://t.co/3UjPQeZut9 https://t.co/z0dzENSbtX

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Inflammatory vs. Noninflammatory Pain https://t.co/ZZLMnT8IVO https://t.co/W0tVK75raN

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Best of 2025: Glossary for Giant Cell Arteritis Dejaco and colleagues have published a glossary of terms often used in conjunction with giant cell arteritis. The glossary of definitions for 23 signs and symptoms of GCA was developed through a consensus process involving https://t.co/yfJXZx5r6G
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Definitions for Interstitial Lung Disease: A Consensusfrom the Fleischner Society https://t.co/gEqmkdJLDh https://t.co/Q0TKznTWdV

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HLA-B27: still the most important genetic factor in axSpA susceptibility, but has lower frequency African American, South American & Middle Eastern pop. B27 discerns clinical subsets of SpA and PsA, particularly acute anterior uveitis or axSpA with psoriasis, https://t.co/Yg7DBOTW8o
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JAMA -- Full read review "Uveitis in Adults:" - affects adults 20 to 50 years - noninfectious anterior uveitis: corticosteroids 1st line Rx - posterior noninfectious uveitis: DMARDs 1st line Rx; Biologics 2nd line https://t.co/BJQkPtK2z2 https://t.co/0puqX5iieE

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Best of 2025: 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. https://t.co/PFHO7x5nxH https://t.co/fvwzLgYGJe

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Best of 2025: Antifibrotics - A New Class of Therapies in Rheumatology? Recent large-scale clinical trials have broadened therapeutic options for SARD-ILD beyond immunosuppressants, offering new hope for patients with these serious conditions. https://t.co/RLlOdEWTOa https://t.co/UI9cdJ5Ovd

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Rheumatologists can’t ignore hypereosinopilic syndrome anymore, not when it borders on our diseases and therapies. Great takeaways on subtypes and therapies from Giacomo Emmi in an elegant talk #EULAR2025 https://t.co/yzQVt1fLKW https://t.co/hrbEeppZhW

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“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

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Best of 2025: Methotrexate intolerance in rheumatoid arthritis Methotrexate (MTX) is the most commonly used DMARD in rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, there is significant intolerance to this drug among adult RA patients - especially at doses above 15 mg per week. https://t.co/hzfF7UVKVI
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Nerandomilast FDA Approved for Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis The FDA has approved nerandomilast (Jascayd), a PDE4b inhibitor, to treat adults with progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF). Nerandomilast was approved to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IFP) in October 2025. https://t.co/KacbtcMn5G
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Algorithm for the treatment of calcinosis #calcinosis #ACR24 https://t.co/NZhP7Enzrp https://t.co/I0HLtYjzgb

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Recent Blogs

Advanced Practice Rheum

Evaluation of Rheumatic Complaints

Jack Cush, MD
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Dr. Cush provides a systematic approach to evaluating musculoskeletal and rheumatic complaints in clinical practice. Read Post

The War Rheum

Kathryn H. Dao, M.D.
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The effects on rheumatologists and their patients living in Ukraine largely have been unseen by the world. At ACR Convergence 2024, I met Dr. Marta Dzhus who practices at St. Michael's Clinical Hospital in Kyiv; she shared her story with me about the humanitarian crisis in rheumatologic care in Ukraine because of the ongoing war. Here is an excerpt of our conversation. Read Post
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