Articles By Jack Cush, MD
Hydroxychloroquine Adherence Lowers Cardiovascular Risks
11 September 2023
Daily hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is better than an apple a day; as a new study shows that adherence to the antimalarial agent significantly lowers future risk of cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.
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RheumNow Podcast – with Special Guest Dr. Janet Pope (9.8.2023)
08 September 2023
This week, Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news with special guest, Dr. Janet Pope. They discuss "Not-non-Inferior", large scale genetic screening, Zoster risk w/ newer lupus drugs, tapering, RA referral problems and the TNR webinar session on "ORAL Surveillance Revisited".
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Woeful Rheumatology Referrals
07 September 2023
Early diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis (IA) is rooted in patient (self or MD) referrals. A recent analysis shows only a minority of rheumatology referrals had inflammatory arthritis, with only 21% were seen within the first 6 weeks of symptoms.
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Oral Surveillance Changes in Advanced Therapy Use in RA
06 September 2023
The safety of tofacitinib and TNF inhibitors was studied in high risk rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in the ORAL Surveillance study, which culminated in an FDA warning in January 2021 on the cardiovascular, cancer and VTE risks associated with JAK inhibitor use.
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Aortic Stenosis Risk in RA
05 September 2023
A large cohort study has shown that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are at an increased risk of developing aortic stenosis (AS), undergoing aortic valve intervention, or AS-related death.
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Hard Decisions in RA (9.1.2023)
01 September 2023
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow, and introduces our September campaign - "Hard Decisions in RA".
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ACR Position Paper: Cost Impact of Rheumatologic Care
31 August 2023
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has published evidence that rheumatologic care can save more than $2700 per patient per year.
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2023 ACR/EULAR Antiphospholipid Syndrome Classification Criteria
29 August 2023
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and EULAR have combined efforts to establish an international multidisciplinary Steering Committee to develop classification criteria for the new antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) to be applied in observational studies and clinical trials.
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Dr. Naomi Rothfield (1929 – 2023)
29 August 2023
Medical schools are rife with mentors. In my rheumatology fellowship I had tow great mentors, Peter Lipsky and Morris Ziff. They introduced me, and other young rheumatologists, to other rheumatology giants and mentors, including Dr. Naomi Rothfield - who they often spoke of as a leader worth following. She was engaging and inclusive. And she stood out as one of the few strong rheumatology department chairs in the 1980s. Naomi F. Rothfield, MD, famed leader from the University of Connecticut, passed away on Sunday, July 2, 2023, at the age of 94.
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Gut Microbiome Differences Antedate JIA Development
28 August 2023
Researchers have shown that gut microbiome differences may be associated with later development of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and that such differences are present years before the disease is diagnosed.
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