Articles By Jack Cush, MD
What Worries You, Masters You (7.1.2022)
By Jack Cush, MD
01 July 2022
Dr. Jack Cush reviews recent news, regulatory and guideline updates from the past week on RheumNow.com. Studies on methotrexate use, COVID vaccination, Supplements and vitamins, and arthrocentesis despite anticoagulation are discussed.
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Placebo Works Best in Combination
By Jack Cush, MD
30 June 2022
Analysis of two large clinical trial datasets shows that placebo response rates in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis are better when the patient continued background methotrexate (MTX).
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New Updated GRAPPA Psoriatic Arthritis Recommendations
By Jack Cush, MD
29 June 2022
The GRAPPA (Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis) treatment recommendations have been updated and the 2021 evidence-based guidance is rich in treatment recommendations based on the key disease "domains" - peripheral arthritis, axial disease, enthesitis, dactylitis, skin and nail psoriasis; with new PsA related domains uveitis and inflammatory bowel disease.
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Gabapentin Implicated in Overdose Deaths
By Jack Cush, MD
29 June 2022
Recent FDA and MMWR warnings suggest that gabapentin was present and implicated in almost 10% of US overdose deaths between 2019 and 2020. This CDC report also stated that gabapentin was the cause of the death in half of these cases.
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Are You Wasting Money on Supplements or Vitamins?
By Jack Cush, MD
27 June 2022
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has updated its recommendations regarding the efficacy of supplements or multivitamins for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality in the general adult population.
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Inferior IL-17 Inhibitor Responses in Psoriatic Women
By Jack Cush, MD
27 June 2022
Pooled data from two large ixekizumab (IXE) trials show that male patients had greater clinical responses than did female patients with psoriatic arthritis are largely unexplored. Reasons for this differential treatment responses to an interleukin-17A inhibitor (IXE) between male and female patients is unexplained.
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Two Week Methotrexate Hold with COVID-19 Vaccination
By Jack Cush, MD
24 June 2022
A cohort study of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients evaluated immunogenicity of COVID vaccination with and without holding methotrexate (MTX) for and 2-weeks and showed better immunogenicity, but more RA flares with the second MTX withdrawal.
Read ArticlePodcast on Podcasting (6.24.22)
By Jack Cush, MD
24 June 2022
A tutorial on podcasting - what works and what does not, 7 keys to podcast success, who and what is it for, and more!
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Bimekizumab Safety in Psoriasis Patients
By Jack Cush, MD
23 June 2022
A pooled analyses of data from eight, phase 2 and 3 randomized clinical trials shows bimekizumab, a dual IL-17A/F inhibitor, to be effective in plaque psoriasis and was well tolerated aside from an increased incidence of mild to moderate oral candidiasis.
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Simultaneous Versus Staged Knee Arthoplasty?
By Jack Cush, MD
23 June 2022
Aside from cost, there are significant concerns regarding efficacy and safety outcomes and recovery time. These issues are compounded with the need for bilateral TKR, wherein the patient and surgeon need to decide whether to have both TKRs done simultaneously or staged (single TKR one after another with a recovery period in between).
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