December 29, 2025
1 min watch
In this Healio video exclusive, Leonard H. Calabrese, DO, chief medical editor of Healio Rheumatology, highlights the potentially “disruptive” entry of vagus nerve stimulation into the rheumatoid arthritis armamentarium.
“Vagal nerve implantation for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis — a disruptive advance in the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases,” he said. “Here [in a Healio Exclusive], we have some very interesting opinions about where this is going to go.”
Calabrese additionally noted recent coverage of data that suggests patients with diabetes who use GLP-1 receptor agonists have a lower risk for certain rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and gout.
“We are fully engaged with GLP-1 biology and the axis of gut, brain and inflammation,” he said. “We are at the beginning of the beginning of this. Please join us in our discussions; you’re going to hear lots more about this.”
Lastly, Calabrese discussed a study examining the impact of antiviral therapy on the incidence of long COVID in patients with autoimmune and rheumatic diseases.
“Long COVID is still with us. It’s part of the rheumatology world,” he said. “[We have] some very interesting data from Mass Brigham on the role of antiviral therapy. We’ve got to keep up on this.”
For more information:
Leonard H. Calabrese, DO, can be reached at calabrl@ccf.org or at rheumatology@healio.com.
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
Healio Interviews
Disclosures:
Calabrese reports being a medical advisor for OpenEvidence, as well as professional relationships with AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Galvani, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis, Regeneron, Sanofi and UCB.
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