Articles By Jack Cush, MD
The Story Teller (Best of 2017)
Angie is my last patient before lunch. I've known her since her RA diagnosis at age 17 years. And for the last 7 years, she’s matured into a fabulous young woman who has adeptly grown her professional life, her dating life and developed her independence, despite her severely active rheumatoid arthritis. But today I see she has a troubled and anxious look as I greet her.
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Therapeutic Update: 5 Questions on FDA Hearing for Tofacitinib in PsA (Best of 2017)
In this Therapeutic Update, Drs. Mease, Gibofsky and Cush answer five questions regarding the August 3rd FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee meeting that reviewed the potential approval of tofacitinib (Xeljanz) in patients with active psoriatic arthritis. The panel was nearly unanimous (10-1) in favor of the efficacy and safety profile of of tofacitinib, and similarly voted 10-1 to approve this drug for use in PsA. Final decisions on these recommendations from the AAC panel will be made at a later date by the FDA.
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Rules for Drug Cessation with Infection (Best of 2017)
Almost everyone gets their education about drug-related infection risk from television ads. Rheumatologists should know what the real risks are and educate their patients that they have a higher than normal rate of nonserious infections. But the infection risk is way more related to inflammation than any specific drug risk.
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Stroke Risk Highest in the First Year of Lupus (Best of 2017)
Arkema et al has published in Annals of Rheumatic Disease a study showing that ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke (CVA) is elevated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared with the general population, especially in the first year.
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Across the Table: Cush & Erkan on Antiphospholipid Syndrome (Best of 2017)
The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a common disorder affecting patients with and without autoimmune disease. Despite wider recognition of APS among physicians as well as the expanding research collaborations, many clinical questions are still encountered in clinical practice, which require further evidence-based studies. In this “Across the Table” edition, Drs. Cush and Erkan discuss some of these APS-related questions. Our guest expert, Dr. Doruk Erkan offers up his approach to diagnosis and management of APS.
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Death Rates from Lupus Remain Disproportionately High (Best of 2017)
The Annals of Internal Medicine reports that despite improving trends in mortality, death rates from systematic lupus erythematosus (lupus) remain high compared to those in the general population, and disparities persist between subpopulations and geographic regions.
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The RheumNow Week in Review - 22 December 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights and news from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Allopurinol Dose Escalation is Safe with Severe CKD
Hypertension, nephrolithiasis and chronic kidney disease (CKD) commonly associates with gout. While there is a clear need to dose adjust NSAIDs and colchicine in those with CKD, there is some debate about the need to dose adjust when using allopurinol with CKD.
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Risk of Gout Onset and Flare Linked to Urate Levels
Serum uric acid (SUA) levels are clearly linked to gout. Researchers from Harvard have systemically reviewed the literature to quantify the risk of onset and flare with varying levels of SUA.
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Cannibis Weakly Effective in Neuropathic Pain
The medical use of cannabis is often extended to management of chronic pain and neuropathic pain.A metanalysis of 27 chronic pain trials show that there is low-strength evidence that cannabis alleviates neuropathic pain but insufficient evidence in other pain populations.
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