Articles By Jack Cush, MD
Endocrine Society - State of Obesity Science and Management
The Endocrine Society has published a scientific statement reframing obesity as a heterogeneous, chronically dysregulated fat-mass disorder, the biology of which is being tested effectively by GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists. Is this precision-medicine? We await long-term safety data, while assessing the outcomes in rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders.
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Lifestyle and Incretin Therapy Advice for Rheumatologists
As GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists become standard co-management tools for obese patients with RA, PsA, axSpA, and gout, this JAMA Insights perspective by Kushner, et al. reframes lifestyle counseling as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy - a reversal of the traditional model. This has with direct implications for how we counsel obese patients we start or co-manage on these agents.
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Early RA Referral Clinics Work (9.18.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com
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Review of HLA-B27
HLA-B27 remains the dominant genetic link to spondyloarthritis (SpA) across the age spectrum, but B27 related clinical expression diverges between children and adults. New mechanistic data on autoreactive T cells, HLA-B27 misfolding, and gut-joint trafficking point to new plausible, targetable pathways.
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Added IVIG is Effective in Myositis
A small randomized controlled trial demonstrates that intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) added to cortocosteroids lead to greater and faster improvements in patients with newly diagn
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Early RA Referral Clinics Work!
An outcomes study from the Leiden Early Arthritis Clinic (EAC) has shown substantially less diagnostic delay and better long-term outcomes when patients are referred to EAC compared to usual referrals.
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Weight Loss Improves Psoriatic Disease Substantially!
Even before the introduction of incretin therapy and bariatric surgery, many randomized and interventional studies (2019–2026) have consistently showed that weight loss produces clinically meaningful, dose-dependent improvement in both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
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A Day of Infamy (9.11.2026)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on Rheumnow.com - including obesity, disappointing durability with GLP-1 drugs, AI diagnoses and worries about CV risk in ANCA-associated vasculitis. And take this week's RheumIQ quiz!
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JAMA: Review of Adult Rheumatoid Arthritis
Smolen, Kerschbaumer, Aletaha, and Robinson have published a comprehensive review article of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in JAMA, noting significant changes to our understanding and treatment guidelines.
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ACP Position Statements on the Ethics of AI in Medical Practice
Recently JAMA updated its guidance on artificial intelligence (AI) in medical publications. Now, the ACP has published a position paper regarding the use and ethical considerations for the use of AI in medical practice.
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