Articles By Jack Cush, MD
Not All Placebos are Equal: The Needle is Mightier than the Pill
Placebos are necessary to determine the “true effect” of any medical intervention. As such, they have become the cornerstone of evidence-based medicine, randomized controlled clinical trials and novel drug development.
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2015 Guidelines for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive, fibrosing form of interstitial pneumonia, with poor survival rates of nearly 50% at 3 years.
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Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Have an Increased Risk of Gout
The frequency of gout among patients with psoriatic disease was studied in two cohorts of 98,810 patients from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2010) and the Nurses' Health Study (1998-2010).
Read ArticleWhat's Your Diagnosis? Truncal Rash, Arthritis and +ANA
An 80 year old woman complains of 3 months of rash on her back. It is modestly pruritic. The lesions are both annular and papular appearing over her back, torso and upper arms. She also complains of pain and swelling in her fingers.
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Tacrolimus Tops Other DMARDs as Induction Therapy for Lupus Nephritis
Metanalysis of nine clinical trials and 972 lupus patients examined the comparative efficacy of tacrolimus, mycophenolate (MMF) and cyclophosphamide (CYC) as induction therapy for lupus nephritis.
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Outcry Over the Cost of Drugs
Several news articles have addressed the rising concern by patients and physicians over the cost of newer drugs. This issue comes to a head as more than 100 oncologists from top cancer hospitals around the U.S.
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DSB: Drug Shortages July 2015
Several drugs continue to be in short supply, posing significant problems for patients. Foremost on this list is leflunomide (Arava) which is backordered for both 10 mg and 20 mg tablets. Leflunomide Shortage
Read ArticleRituximab Induced Serum Sickness
Karmacharya and colleages have reviewed 33 cases of rituximab-induced serum sickness. Half of these patients had the classic triad of SS fever, rash, and arthralgia and a self-limiting course. The time to onset after infusion was greater with the first dose of rituximab c
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Residents Satisfied and Optimistic
Recently released 2015 Medscape resident salary & debt report shows that most medical residents are satisfied with their compensation, professional relationships, and career choices.
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An Elderly RA Patient with Hepatitis B and Latent TB
Comorbidities often influence the choice of therapies in RA. This elderly man with hepatitis and TB needs aggressive treatment, but what drugs can reasonably be considered?
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