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Steroids

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 international experts.

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Best of 2025: Glucocorticoids in SLE: how to start, how to follow, how to stop

Current guidelines recommend limiting the use of glucocorticoids by coining the new concept of “bridging therapy”, that is, use GCs when the disease is active and get rid of them as soon as you can. This way of thinking is conceptually attractive, however, the formula for translation to real

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Tricks of the Trade – Clinic Advice from APPs

J. Cush and many APPs

December 2025 is focused on advanced practice providers, their impact, education and priorities.  In seeking and soliciting the help and advice of leaders in the rheumatology APP world, I have been impressed by APP pride, dedication and passion for what they do.

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Disease Activity Criteria for Adult-Onset Still's Disease: EULAR Points to Consider

EULAR has published a "points to consider" (PtCs) guidance on the development of criteria for the assessment of the disease activity in adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD).

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Reefer Madness (12.12.2025)

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal and regulatory reports from this past week on RheumNow.com.  B cell drugs in SLE and ITP, biomarkers in GCA & PSS and great videos by APPs.

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Study of 2280 dermatomyositis (DM) & polymyositis (PM) pts looked at short term (ST: <3 mos) vs long term (LT) steroid (GC) use. Vs ST, LT GC use assoc w/ higher risks of heart failure (adj OR 1.8), osteoporosis (1.9), all-cause & PM/DM-related admission (3.8) & higher costs https://t.co/Q9xt06yzew
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Lupus Nephritis study of 136 pts followed 121 mos. Median time to wean GC to 7.5 mg/day, 5 mg/day & D/C was 9, 12 & 29 months post-Dx. Predictors of shorter time to D/C= Sustained CR/SLEDAI-2K≤4, membranous LN, & HCQ. Prolonged GC & renal flares increase damage accrual

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Pulse Steroids and Mycophenolate in Juvenile Dermatomyositis JAMA Dermatology has published a pilot study demonstrating the safety and efficacy of intermittent intravenous methylprednisolone pulse (IVMP) therapy plus mycophenolate in 28 patients with JDM. https://t.co/i2HBycbWY9
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Vitamin D and Lupus Outcomes (11.21.2025)

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

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Lupus Nephritis study of 136 pts followed 121 mos. Median time to wean GC to 7.5 mg/day, 5 mg/day & D/C was 9, 12 & 29 months post-Dx. Predictors of shorter time to D/C= Sustained CR/SLEDAI-2K≤4, membranous LN, & HCQ. Prolonged GC & renal flares increase damage accrual

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Pulse Steroids and Mycophenolate in Juvenile Dermatomyositis

JAMA Dermatology has published a pilot study demonstrating the safety and efficacy of intermittent intravenous methylprednisolone pulse (IVMP) therapy plus mycophenolate in 28 patients with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM).

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Putting Steroid Tapering into Practice in SLE Drs. Yuz Yusof and Ed Vital discuss abstract 1526 (Guidance For Corticosteroid Tapering In Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Results From An International Delphi Consensus Project) presented at #ACR25. https://t.co/nqMyy3qNto
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Treating During Pregnancy (11.14.2025)

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

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SLE Prospect. Observational Study of 826 SLE pts over 3 yr for outcomes& IFN signature (IFNGS). 71% were IFNGS-high. IFNGS-high pts were younger. on GC w/ Hi SLEDAI-2K. SLEDAI-2K decreased over time, regardless of IFNGS. By 36mos, 45% had ≥1 flare; higher in IFNGS. https://t.co/c3zHT2GfR5
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Hospital Mortality in Dermatomyositis

A cohort study shows that hospitalized patients with dermatomyositis have higher in-hospital mortality in the presence of active rash, interstitial lung disease, and elevated neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio at admission.

Dermatomyositis (DM) has significiant

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PRED-SAFE: Shared Decision-Making Tool for Chronic Prednisone Use Drs. Jiha Lee and Shivani Garg discuss abstract 1052 (“Prednisone… A Necessary Evil…” Developing an Evidence-Based Benefits vs. Harms Shared Decision-Making Tool (PRED-SAFE) to Support Decisions Around Chronic https://t.co/ZBH61Uzzc8
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Tapering in SELECT GCA: Steroids are the Problem Dr. Mike Putman reports on abstract 0895 (Impact of Glucocorticoid Tapering in Giant Cell Arteritis: Analysis From the SELECT-GCA Trial) presented at #ACR25. https://t.co/80Bl49uImB https://t.co/GjlHHjPW2u
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

New ACR 2025 Guidelines for Non-Renal Lupus

MedPage Today

Written by Lisa Sammaritano, MD, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, and a committee of nearly 50 other experts, the new guideline also stipulates that corticosteroids are OK for gaining symptom control in newly diagnosed patients and when flares erupt, but the duration should

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PET Uptake in Large Vessel GCA – Does tocilizumab help?

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common form of adult vasculitis in the United States and can be subdivided into those with cranial only symptoms, those with large vessel vasculiti/PMR, and those with mixed features. Non-invasive imaging is key in detecting large vessel

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#ACR25 Abstract 1526 “Guidance for #Steroid Tapering in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus” 101 international experts reached Delphi consensus on CS tapering strategies in #SLE. 🔹 Practical guidance for real-world tapering across disease activity levels and organ involvement. https://t.co/GRlUz3Y3EP

Tacrolimus in Lupus Nephritis Management

Prof. Sandra Navarra and colleagues compared the efficacy and safety of tacrolimus and glucocorticoids vs. mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) as a continuous induction-maintenance treatment for class III/IV+V lupus nephritis.

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ACR 2025 Rheumatology Round Up

Drs. Jack Cush & Arthur Kavanaugh, two of rheumatology’s most trusted voices, provide a breakdown of the latest breakthroughs and hottest topics in rheumatology from the 2025 ACR Convergence meeting in Chicago.

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RA: Inject the Steroids Dr. Richard Conway reports on abstract 1355, "Use of parenteral compared to oral glucocorticoids in early rheumatoid arthritis is superior for chance of being off steroids and escalation of therapy at 1 year," presented at the #ACR25. https://t.co/xFQMIpi75S
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

ACR25 Best Abstracts - Day 4

Here's the last installment of our "ACR Best" abstracts as chosen by the RheumNow faculty.  Most of these were from the final, day 4, but a few were noteworthy holdovers from day 3. Enjoy!

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#SLE #DORIS #remission is RARE and without #prednisone even rarer #ASIA #Pacific 5K pts over 10 yrs A call to do better 82% LLDAS, 70% remission, 31% GC-free remission (REM-0) at least once abst#595 @ACRheum @RheumNow #ACRBest https://t.co/OK6sYnqs81
Janet Pope @Janetbirdope( View Tweet )
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