Articles By Jack Cush, MD
Bimekizumab Safety in Psoriasis Patients
By Jack Cush, MD
23 June 2022
A pooled analyses of data from eight, phase 2 and 3 randomized clinical trials shows bimekizumab, a dual IL-17A/F inhibitor, to be effective in plaque psoriasis and was well tolerated aside from an increased incidence of mild to moderate oral candidiasis.
Read Article
Simultaneous Versus Staged Knee Arthoplasty?
By Jack Cush, MD
23 June 2022
Aside from cost, there are significant concerns regarding efficacy and safety outcomes and recovery time. These issues are compounded with the need for bilateral TKR, wherein the patient and surgeon need to decide whether to have both TKRs done simultaneously or staged (single TKR one after another with a recovery period in between).
Read Article
COVID-19 Death is Dependent on Age and Type I IFN Autoantibodies
By Jack Cush, MD
22 June 2022
A study in PNAS of has shown that autoantibodies against type I interferons (IFNs) are strong predictors of death from COVID-19. This adds to the evidence that evidence preexisting autoantibodies neutralizing IFNs are strong determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia.
Read Article
Modest Benefits of Diet on Arthritis
By Jack Cush, MD
21 June 2022
A EULAR taskforce systematically reviewd the literature on the effects of diet and lifestyle behaviors in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs), and found little evidence suggesting dietary factors can substantially affect the outcomes in people with RMDs.
Read Article
Burnout Threatens the Rheumatology Workforce Conundrum
By Jack Cush, MD
21 June 2022
There is a shortage of rheumatologists in Canada and the recent 2020 Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) Workforce and Wellness study shows that the shortage may be compounded by rheumatologist burnout, especially among young and female physicians.
Read Article
CC Genotype and Thiopurine Toxicity
By Jack Cush, MD
20 June 2022
Annals of Internal Medicine reports that thiopurine toxcicity risk is associated with the "CC" genotype and that azathioprine discontinuation was associated with hematopoietic toxicity and lower thiopurine doses.
Read Article
What Happened to Kawasaki Disease During COVID-19?
By Jack Cush, MD
20 June 2022
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a new COVID-related syndrome in children, the "Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children" (MIS), was described as being similar to but distinctly different than childhood Kawasaki's disease (KD). A new epidemiologic report shows that while MIS-C cases rose, KD cases fell and remained low during the period of masking and school closure.
Read Article
Two Week Twitter (6.17.2022)
By Jack Cush, MD
17 June 2022
Dr. Jack Cush does a 2-week review of RheumNow Tweets on news and journal citations worth noting, along with some opinions on Telehealth, manpower, monkeypox and the price of drugs.
Read Article
Flares Not Increased Following Recombinant Zoster Vaccine Injections
By Jack Cush, MD
15 June 2022
Insurance claims analysis has shown that the use of the (CDC recommended) recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) for prevention of herpes zoster was highly used in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and was safe, as higher rates of arthritis flares were not evident.
Read Article
Improved Pregnancy Outcomes in SLE (2010–2020)
By Jack Cush, MD
14 June 2022
A retrospective cohort study has shown that outcomes in pregnant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients has significantly improved in the last decade, but there still is a high risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO).
Read Article