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Outcomes

Are JAK Inhibitors Better at Pain Relief in RA?

MedPage Today

Among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients responding to upadacitinib (Rinvoq) or adalimumab, those receiving the former had significantly less residual pain with treatment, according to a post-hoc analysis of phase III trial data.

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Review of Restless Legs Syndrome

JAMA has published a full read review of RLS - restless leg syndrome - a frequent, but often unrecognized, cause of poor sleep and the resultant hazards of insomnia.

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Emergency Department Visits by Rheumatoid Patients

A Canadian population study shows that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have 30% higher emergency department (ED) visit rates for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSCs) compared to age- and sex-matched population controls.

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Smartphones and Rheumatoid Flares

FORWARD Databank of Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients reveals that smartphone data can predict flares using PROs. 

RA flares are seen in 30-60% of patients, are hard

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Nurse Practitioner Independence

A JAMA Viewpoint article reports on a March 2025 Nurse Practitioner (NP) Entrepreneurship Summit in Boston in March 2025 identifying barriers and opportunities to NP-owned medical practices.

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In Dec 2025, the FDA qualified total hip bone mineral density (BMD) assessed by DXA as a validated surrogate endpoint for osteoporosis clinical trials. Previously OP trials required fracture endpoints as primary efficacy measures, necessitating large 2-5 yr studies https://t.co/5t9rftwX4A
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
ADJUST trial (248 JIA pts w/ Uveitis & inactive >6mos, either continued or weaned off adalimumab. ADA weaning resulted in more flares (68% vs 14%, mostly uveitis) w/ no protection from background DMARD Rx. Restarting ADA was mostly effective. https://t.co/ZWHfPl2UNl https://t.co/Fk1HES2UIc
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

The 2025 Rheumatology Year in Review

The year 2025 presented numerous advances in rheumatology and related inflammatory and autoimmune disorders ranging from several new groundbreaking FDA approvals/indications, drug developments, game-changing guidelines and practices that will impact patient care for rheumatic diseases.

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Spread of Psoriatic Disease from Skin to Joints

Approximately 20 to 30 percent of all people who suffer from psoriasis also develop painful inflammation in their joints over time. If left untreated, psoriatic arthritis can lead to permanent damage to bones and joints. Why the disease progresses was assessed by researchers from the

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101 Meditteranean pregnant RA compared to 236 non-RA controls. HCQ & SSZ (45-73%) most used; biologics less (25%). RA had signif more adverse preg outcomes - LBW (OR 3), C-section (OR 2.55), fewer neonatal deaths (OR 0.38). RA had more miscarriages (20 v 1%) & fewer live births https://t.co/3nTdXEbBHI
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
In Dec 2025, the FDA qualified total hip bone mineral density (BMD) assessed by DXA as a validated surrogate endpoint for osteoporosis clinical trials. Previously OP trials required fracture endpoints as primary efficacy measures, necessitating large 2-5 yr studies https://t.co/q8a7QmoIXs
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Antirheumatic drug use with rheumatoid arthritis pregnancies

A nationwide Norwegian registry study of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pregnancies showed that while medication use increased during pregnancy, many discontinued treatment during pregnancy, only to resumed it after childbirth.

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Nursing Shortage Could Worsen Due to Limited Student Loans

MedPage Today

In November, we reported on nursing groups that pushed back against a Trump administration proposal to de-list nursing as a professional degree for purposes of student borrowing. In this report, we look ahead to see what might happen as a result of the policy change.

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Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage in Rheumatic Disease

A retrospective, cross-sectional, single-center study of adult rheumatic disease patients with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH), demonstrates a high proportion have coexistent pulmonary infection and significant mortality risk. 

DAH is an uncommon but

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2025 Lancet review https://t.co/Qbwup6QxZK of Osteoarthritis did not mention/endorse Rx w/ platelet rich plasma (PRP) prompting several letters of protest. Read the authors response: Despite the popularity of PRP, there are few PBO controlled high quality studies to prove its https://t.co/7pCZV9CHfJ
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Subcutaneous Anifrolumab in SLE

Manzi et al. have published the results of the TULIP-SC trial that showed that weekly subcutaneous (SC) anifrolumab, when given to severe SLE patients, had comparable efficacy and safety to the approved intravenous (IV) anifrolumab. 

TULIP-SC was a

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Subcutaneous Anifrolumab Effective in Lupus A new study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology demonstrates that subcutaneous administration of anifrolumab provides efficacy comparable to intravenous administration, offering a promising alternative for at-home care of patients https://t.co/KgBC8vJHuB
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

2026 Resolutions (1.9.2026)

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, announcements and journal articles from this past week on RheumNow.com. More on Variable bendability, a better way to treat RA, and a novel advance for GLP1a in PsA; and 2026 Resolutions!

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Glucocorticoid Injections in Knee Osteoarthritis A randomized clinical trial of 60 patients found that glucocorticoid injections into the infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) did not significantly reduce pain scores in patients with inflammatory knee osteoarthritis (OA) (compared to https://t.co/4bKAxER0wq
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

GLP-1 Agonist plus IL-17 Inhibition in Obese Psoriatic Arthritis

Lilly announced the topline results from its phase 3b "TOGETHER PsA" trial, showing that the combination use of ixekizumab (Taltz) and tirzepatide (Zepbound) was superior to IXE alone, yielding both significant weight loss and ACR50 disease control in adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA

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Data from NHIS surveys show in the USA 24.8 million adults with arthritis reported having an activity limitation AND that the arthritis attributable work limitations in US adults 18-64 yrs affects 38.8%. https://t.co/Ul2GjrFqfp https://t.co/Ul2GjrFqfp https://t.co/qzJQwBYDWT
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Subcutaneous Anifrolumab Effective in Lupus

ACR

A new study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology demonstrates that subcutaneous administration of anifrolumab provides efficacy comparable to intravenous administration, offering a promising alternative for at-home care of patients living with moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus

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Systematic review of Difficult-to-treat RA (D2T-RA): 23 articles, 27,987 RA pts from 13 countries - pooled prevalence of D2T-RA was 11.7% (10.9% overall; 13.2% in b/tsDMARDs-treated RA). 47% D2T-RA had persistent inflammatory refractory RA (PIRRA). Prevalence decreased w/ https://t.co/0Gatzbfxid
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Glucocorticoid Injections in Knee Osteoarthritis

A randomized clinical trial of 60 patients found that glucocorticoid injections into the infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) did not significantly reduce pain scores in patients with inflammatory knee osteoarthritis (compared to placebo).

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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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