Articles By Jack Cush, MD
Aortic Calcification and Lumbar Fracture Risk in Older Men
Fractures of the spine and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) can both be visualized with spinal imaging; a new report shows that finding both radiographic vertebral fracture and AAC on the same lateral spine images may predict the risk of future incident major osteoporotic fracture i
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Hypertension Unaffected by Urate Lowering Therapy
Does uric acid contribute to the risk of hypertension (HTN)? A recent cohort trial shows that allopurinol in young adults does not sufficiently lower blood pressure (BP).
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RheumNow Podcast – Infection in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis (3.26.2021)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, FDA Denials and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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FDA Panel Rejects Tanezumab for Osteoarthritis
A two day FDA review by the Drug Safety and Risk Management and Arthritis Advisory Committees has yielded a 19-1 vote against the approval of tanezumab, a nerve growth factor inhibitor, for use in osteoarthritis (OA).
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Safety of Paternal DMARD or Biologic Use
A large cohort study of expectant fathers treated for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) failed to show any detrimental effect from paternal exposure to immunosuppressive or biologic agents on offspring outcomes.
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RECIPE Trial - Mycophenolate to Suppress Immunogenicity with Pegloticase in Gout
Pegloticase is indicated in the treatment of severe gout patients but prolonged use may be limited by immunogenicity to the PEG moiety. A randomized, controlled trial has shown that concomitant mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) may prolong the efficacy of pegloticase in gout.
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Rituximab vs. JAK inhibitors in Rheumatoid Lung Disease
There are no current FDA approved therapies for rheumatoid arthritis associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) or bronchiectasis, but a recent retrospective cohort study showed equivalent outcomes when RA-ILD patients were treated with either rituximab or janus kinase inhibitors.
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RheumNow Podcast – Great Associations (3.19.2021)
Dr. Jack Cush rants on the journal reports, news and FDA actions featured this past week on RheumNow.com.
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Are You a Super Rheum?
Several weeks ago, at the Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposia, an interesting debate between Drs. Orrin Troum and Marty Bergman hashed over the concept of whether rheumatologists should sub-specialize with a practice, research or career devoted to one disease ("Super Rheum"), or be "selective" about what disorders and diseases they would treat or just be a generalist.
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Apremilast Equals MTX in Palmoplantar Psoriasis
Palmoplantar psoriasis (PPP) is a therapeutically challenging variant of psoriasis; nonetheless, a prospective, randomized, active-controlled trial from India suggests that apremilast is effective and safe in patients with PPP.
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