Articles By Jack Cush, MD
What to do with "no-shows"
A current Medscape article on patient "no shows" in private medical practice examines the cause and approach to the problem. The most common reason for no shows is lack of knowledge about the scheduled appointment. Here are other common causes of no-shows, and how to address the problem.
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Managing JDM with Calcinosis
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow and discusses a case of refractory juvenile dermatomyositis with calcinosis.
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Melatonin Use Growing, Inappropriate & Potentially Unsafe
With nearly one-third of adults, adolescents and children having sleep difficulties, many resort to using melatonin. JAMA reports substantial increases in the use of over-the-counter (OTC) melatonin, in all age groups. But is it effective, safe and warranted?
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Rituximab Efficacy in Systemic Sclerosis
The DESIRES trial studied rituximab (RTX) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and showed clinically significant improvement in skin and lung outcomes after a subsequent 24-week open-label extension phase.
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Low Dose IL-2 Therapy in SLE
A multicentre, proof-of-concept trial of suggests that low-dose IL-2 therapy may be effective in moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
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Drug-Induced Lupus from Proton Pump Inhibitors
A wide range of therapies have been implicated in causing drug-induced lupus erythematosus (DIL); now it appears that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) can be added to the list of causative drugs.
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Favorable Pregnancy Outcomes in Spondyloarthritis
Pregnancy often occurs in women with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), and a recent cohort study suggests outcomes are generally better than what had been reported in the literature.
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JUNIPERA Study - Secukinumab in Juvenile PsA & ERA
JUNIPERA study evaluated secukinumab (SEC) in children with enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) and juvenile psoriatic arthritis (JPsA) and was found to be safe and effective in patients with active ERA and JPsA who previous failed to respond to conventional therapy.
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Black Adults Have a Higher Gout Risk
In a cross-sectional study of US adults, gout was more prevalent in black adults compared to white adults; possibly explained by sex-specific dietary differences and social determinants of health and clinical factors.
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Global Mortality Rates for PsA, SpA and Colitis
Global age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) for 1000000 was for 0.13 for AS, 0.04 for PsA, 0.86 for CD and 0.76 for UC.
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