Articles By Jack Cush, MD
2021 Update to EULAR Points on Immunomodulatory Use in COVID-19
EULAR has updated its recommendations (points to consider - PtC) for rheumatologists managing patients during COVID-19; now with 2 overarching principles and 12 PtC.
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Still’s Disease Following COVID-19 Vaccination
Both systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) and adult-onset Still’s disease are acquired autoinflammatory disorders of uncertain etiology. Yet recent reports of AOSD onset and flare following COVID-19 vaccinations may have important mechanistic implications.
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Cancer Risk in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Bernatsky and colleagues have shown cancer risk factors in incident systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Researchers analyzed an SLE cohort of 1,668 patients, over an average of 9 years follow-up and found 65 cancers: 15 breast; 10 nonmelanoma skin; 7 lung; 6 hematologic; 6 prostate; 5 melanoma; 3 cervical; 3 renal; 2 each gastric, head and neck, and thyroid; and, 1 each rectal, sarcoma, thymoma, and uterine cancers.
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Abatacept After Ustekinumab Withdrawal in Active Plaque Psoriasis
A randomized controlled trial has shown that treatment of plaque psoriasis via costimulatory blockade ( CD28/B7) with abatacept did not prevent psoriasis relapse after withdrawal of ustekinumab.
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Hepatitis B Reactivation with Rituximab and Abatacept
Hepatitis B reactivation is an uncommon complication of biologic therapy use. Now, a serologic study of rheumatoid arthritis patients shows that HBV reactivation is seen with rituximab, and less so with abatacept, especially in patients without hepatitis B antibody (HBsAb) positiv
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RETRO - Taper or Not: You Decide
A prospective, phase 3 trial of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in sustained remission has shown more than half will flare if disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) therapy is tapered or discontinued and that remission is best maintained by continued DMARD therapy.
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RheumNow Podcast – #ACA: Ask Cush Anything (10.8.2021)
Arthritis numbers are rising, and people are finally talking about osteoarthritis. Also, ACR 2021 is just a few weeks away - are you ready? Finally, I'll review cases and questions submitted by viewers in Ask Cush Anything (#ACA). This, and nearly a dozen news items and reports, are discussed in this week's podcast. Let's begin.
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Clinical Associations with Myositis Antibodies
While myositis-specific autoantibodies (MSAs) and myositis-associated autoantibodies (MAAs) may have prognostic value through their clinical associations, many patients will not have them and overall, they are poorly predictive of a malignancy risk.
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Erosive Hand Osteoarthritis Portends Worse OA
An erosive hand osteoarthritis (EOA) study from the Osteoarthritis Initiative shows that EOA is more common in older women and is strongly linked to further progressive, articular structural damage. This was a longitudinal cohort study of 3,365 individuals without prevalent erosive hand OA at baseline.
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