Rare Diseases

RheumNow Podcast – ACR 20 is Coming to Town (10.30.20)

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Dr Jack Cush overviews the RheumNow commitment, upcoming bonus coverage of ACR20 and the good news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com

Abatacept in Early Systemic Sclerosis (ASSET study)

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An open-label extension of the ASSET trial (abatacept in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis) showed continued safety with significant improvements in the modified Rodnan Skin Score (mRSS) at 12 months, suggesting abatacept (ABA) may benefit early systemic sclerosis (SSc).

ASSET was

Immune Necrotizing Myopathy

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A full read review of immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy is portrayed as a distinct subtype of inflammatory myopathies first described in 2004.

This form of myositis has been associated with antibodies to signal recognition particle (anti-SRP) or anti-3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coA

RheumNow Podcast – Back Talk: Questions from Listeners (10.23.20)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports, survey results and "Back Talk" questions from Rheums.

ICI Arthritis Tied to Cancer Progression

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Cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) who develop severe arthritis may be at risk for progression of the malignancy, a single-center study suggested.

Almost 90% of patients treated with ICI develop immune-related adverse events, which can include pulmonary,

Biologics Beneficial in Eosinophilic Vasculitis

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Two biologic therapies showed promise in the treatment of refractory or relapsing eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) in a retrospective European study.

Among 63 patients who were treated with rituximab (Rituxan), remission or partial responses at 1 year were observed

2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine Goes to the Discovery of Hepatitis C

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The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus. These three scientists made a decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne

RheumNow Podcast – Function Follows Form (10.2.20)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com. Regulatory approvals, update on global rheumatology alliance, smoking and psoriasis, gabapentin let down and defining difficult RA.

Slow Lung Decline Typical in Systemic Sclerosis

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The interstitial lung disease that develops in a subset of patients with systemic sclerosis tends to be heterogeneous, with the majority of patients experiencing a slow pattern of decline in lung function, analysis of outcomes in the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database

Novel Biologic Promising in Mid-Stage Scleroderma Trial

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The anti-interleukin agent romilkimab showed significant benefits on skin fibrosis among patients with systemic sclerosis in a phase II trial, researchers reported.

At week 24, the least squares mean change from baseline on the modified Rodnan skin score was -4.76 for patients

RheumNow Podcast – Cardiovascular Risk in Psoriatic Disease (9.25.20)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and Journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.

Livedo, Purpura and Coagulopathy in Severe COVID-19

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JAMA Dermatology expands the spectrum of complications seen with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection describing cutaneous purpura and livedo lesions in patients with severe COVID-19.

A flurry of recent reports have described livedoid and necrotic

Insights into Antinuclear Antibodies in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

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Pisetsky and Lipsky have reviewed the evolving literature on the utility of antinuclear antibodies (ANA). ANAs generated as part of an autoimmune disorder may form immune complexes that mediate pathogenesis by tissue deposition or cytokine induction.

ANAs are directed at DNA or

COVID and the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children

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Lancet Infectious Disease has reviewed the epidemiology, causes, clinical features, and current treatment for the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and adolescents associated with COVID-19, noting severe organ damage can occur pediatric COVID-19 patients who are severely

RheumNow Podcast – Rheum Lives Matter (8.28.20)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week. Of mice and men in cartilage, the efficacy of JAK inhibitors in patients who are having skin problems, nrAxSpa has its own diagnostic code, metformin, talking about Back Talk, plus so much more.

Hepatitis C Anti-Viral Drug-Induced Arthritis

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Curative direct-acting antiviral therapy (DAAT) for hepatitis-C virus (HCV) infection has been revolutionary, but a novel report shows that nearly one quarter of DAAT treated patients developed new onset or significant worsening of MSK symptoms, despite being negative for hepatitis-C by PCR

Treatments Differ Across Centers in Systemic JIA

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Significant variations were seen across hospitals in the treatment of children admitted with new-onset systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), despite increasing evidence of the efficacy of biologics and the hazards of extended glucocorticoid exposure, a retrospective cohort study found

Update on Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis

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JAMA has published a clinical update of recent studies on GCA. While PET/CT scanning are novel means of demonstrating activity, they have not changed the diagnostic approach to GCA or PMR and although there are no new proven treatment strategies for PMR beyond glucocorticoids, the FDA has

RheumNow Podcast – The Bad News That’s Fit to Print (8.21.20)

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Dr Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow: filgotinib rejection, delays in diagnosis, metformin benefits COVID, Abx and IBD, and UPA beats MTX.

Canakinumab Tapering in Still's Disease

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You can reduce - but not stop - canakinumab therapy in patients who are in complete clinical remission in children with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

New Criteria for Discoid Lupus

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JAMA Dermatology has proposed an initial validation of classification criteria for discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), primarily for research purposes, but with clinical applicatility.

Candidate criteria were prospectively develped in 215 DLE patients from international

Increased Lupus Anticoagulant Activity in COVID-19 Infection

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JAMA Network Open reports that after adjusting for inflammation, lupus anticoagulant (LA) is significantly increased (positive) in COVID-19 patients and that LA positivity was associated with incidence risk of thrombotic events.

Is Mortality Improving in Systemic Sclerosis?

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Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a progressive autoimmune disorder that causes premature death, usually from lung, GI, or renal disease. While treatment efforts have been frustrating advances in care may have altered the risk of death according to population data showing that while SSc mortality

RheumNow Podcast - The SARS-CoV-2 Update (8-14-20)

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Dr. Jack Cush updates the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com, with information on enthesitis, nr-Ax-SpA, UAB, Blockbuster Rheum Drugs and use of ACE inhibitors.

RheumNow Podcast - Top 13 Rheumatology Centers (7-31-20)

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and TOP 13 list of Best Rheumatology Hospitals.