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Vagus nerve-targeted neuromodulation an option for RA?

Neuroimmune modulation via a vagus nerve-targeted implantable device significantly improves rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, offering patients a first-in-class nonpharmacologic treatment option.

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Editor's Choice

Bruxism and rheumatic diseases: what's the relationship?

A possible bidirectional relationship may exist between bruxism and inflammatory rheumatic diseases, mediated by temporomandibular joint pathology but also by central sensitization, psychological factors, and inflammatory pathways.

Subcutaneous anifrolumab feasible in SLE

Weekly subcutaneous anifrolumab shows treatment benefits for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus consistent with those seen with the monthly intravenous formulation.

Macrophage activation syndrome following varicella

Common infections can trigger macrophage activation syndrome. This case of a 10-year-old girl developing MAS during the convalescence period after varicella highlights the complexities of MAS diagnosis.

Is functional cure possible in autoimmune diseases?

Research suggests this is achievable in selected cases through trigger removal, immune reset, or profound immune depletion. But advancing this paradigm requires standardized definitions, predictive biomarkers, and long-term trials.

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Aplastic anemia: managing special patient subgroups and challenging cases (Link opens in a new window)

Learn more about the importance of adapting treatment approaches for special patient populations (eg, elderly or pregnant patients) in this third module of our interactive e-Learning program on diagnosing and treating aplastic anemia.

Supported by:
  • Pfizer
Developed by: Springer Health+ IME
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Case Studies

Macrophage activation syndrome following varicella

Common infections can trigger macrophage activation syndrome. This case of a 10-year-old girl developing MAS during the convalescence period after varicella highlights the complexities of MAS diagnosis.

Rare complication of methotrexate in RA

A case series describing four women with rheumatoid arthritis who presented with stress fractures and showed rapid clinical improvement after discontinuation of methotrexate.

Hodgkin lymphoma in a patient with Behçet disease

A case illustrating a rare but important association between Behçet disease and Hodgkin lymphoma, possibly mediated by immune dysregulation and chronic immunosuppression.

Episode 24: Looking back at 2025

Advancing patient care

In this special edition of Medicine Matters, we're joined by Dr Gregory Lim, Claire Greenhill, and Sarah Onuora, Chief Editors of Nature Reviews Cardiology, Endocrinology, and Rheumatology, for a look back at the advances in their specialties in 2025.

Find out what caught their attention and why, and what they're looking forward to in 2026.

Gregory Lim
Claire Greenhill
Sarah Onuora
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Podcast

Current Reviews

Non-metastatic breast cancer patients discontinuing aromatase inhibitor on denosumab: what next?

Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are one of the adjuvant endocrine therapies of choice, for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women and premenopausal women with ovarian suppression. However, treatment with AIs leads to …

Narrative review on the development of multi-target pharmacological agents for the management of rheumatoid arthritis

Chronic inflammatory illnesses are serious non-infectious ailments that have a major impact on global health by lowering lifespan and quality of life. They are characterized by chronic inflammation as a major driver of start and development …

Efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil versus cyclophosphamide in the management of childhood-onset lupus nephritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune condition that often impacts several organs of our body [ 1 ]. About 15–20% of SLE patients are diagnosed in the pediatric age group, and up to one-third of these children may develop lupus …

When it’s not RA: unmasking Whipple’s disease in seronegative, difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis

Whipple’s disease (WD) is a rare, chronic infectious condition caused by the ubiquitous bacterium Tropheryma whipplei ( T. whipplei ) [ 1 ]. While often asymptomatic in healthy carriers, it can advance to a chronic infection in genetically …

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on advances in lupus

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a severe autoimmune disease that can cause damage to almost every system of the body. Learn more about novel biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring, and familiarize yourself with current and emerging targeted therapies.

Prof. Edward Vital
Prof. Ronald F. van Vollenhoven
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Video

CME & eLearning

Aplastic anemia (Link opens in a new window)

Transform the way you care for your patients with aplastic anemia with our 3-module eLearning series using real-world case studies and expert insights. Discover why early diagnosis matters, explore the benefits and risks of current treatments, and develop tailored approaches for complex cases. 

Supported by:
  • Pfizer
Developed by: Springer Health+ IME

Further Reading

Rural–urban disparities in healthcare access among individuals with osteoarthritis in Portugal: a cross-sectional analysis of the 2019 National Health Survey

Osteoarthritis (OA) is among the leading causes of musculoskeletal pain worldwide, affecting 7.6% of the global population in 2020. This prevalence increased by 132.2% over 30 years and is projected to rise by 60 to 100% by 2050 (Steinmetz et al.

The association between intraoperative hypotension and postoperative acute kidney injury following emergent critical cesarean delivery: a retrospective cohort study

This retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the association between intraoperative hypotension (IOH) and postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) among patients who underwent emergent critical cesarean delivery. We analyzed electronic …

Association between systemic inflammatory response index and cardiovascular disease risk in rheumatoid arthritis patients: a machine learning based on US and Chinese cohorts

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized primarily by synovitis, which frequently involves the proximal interphalangeal joints, metacarpophalangeal joints, and wrist joints [ 1 ]. RA is the most common …

Interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis—a retrospective cross-sectional study in Taiwan

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a poor prognostic complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc), which is life-threatening [ 1 ]. Diagnosis of SSc–ILD is challenging, requiring multidisciplinary evaluations by rheumatologists, pulmonologists, and …

Related topics

taVNS of limited benefit in erosive osteoarthritis

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation does not significantly improve hand pain relative to sham stimulation in people with erosive hand osteoarthritis, but may benefit certain subgroups.

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DMARDs boost treatment success in nonanterior sarcoidosis-associated uveitis

Adding a conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug to first-line systemic corticosteroid therapy may reduce treatment failure in patients with nonanterior sarcoidosis-associated uveitis.

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Image Credits
Vagus nerves, illustration/© SEBASTIAN KAULITZKI / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Getty Images, Woman with pain in her jaw/© agenturfotografin / stock.adobe.com (symbolic image with model), Close-up of woman receiving injection in arm/© leolintang / Getty Images / iStock, Confluent hemorrhagic rashes around ankle joint /© 2025, H. Mateiko et al, J Med Case Reports, Question mark made of pills/© Nadzeya / stock.adobe.com, Aplastic Anemia/© Springer Healthcare IME, MRI of foot of rheumatoid arthritis patient treated with methotrexate/© 2025, Olga Dorota Lotkowska et al, under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature, Rheumatol Int, FDG PET-CT of patient with Behçet disease and Hodgkin lymphoma/© 2025, Matthew Coulter et al, under exclusive licence to International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR), Clin Rheumatol, Medicine Matters Podcast promo image/© Springer Medizin GmbH, Lupus concept/© (M) Vitalii But / stock.adobe.com / Generated with AI, Incretin mimetic injectors/© aprott/ Getty Images / iStock, Scan of toddler’s spine to position the needle for a lumbar sympathetic block to treat complex regional pain syndrome/© 2024, Amany E. Ayad et al, Pain Ther, Woman using a smartphone/© Jajah-sireenut / Getty Images / iStock (symbolic image with model), Man having a coughing episode/© kostyha / stock.adobe.com (symbolic image with model), Stretchy skin in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome/© Biophoto Associates / Science Photo Library, Nervous system illustration/© vefimov / stock.adobe.com (symbolic image with model), Close-up of person massaging their hand/© Jacob Wackerhausen / Getty Images / iStock, Vitamin D capsules/© NiseriN / Getty Images / iStock, Weighing scales and measuring tape/© Atlas / stock.adobe.com, Woman doing stretches in bedroom/© Galina Zhigalova / Getty Images / iStock (symbolic image with model), X-rays of patient with heterotopic ossification after wrist replacement/© 2025, Sonja Verena Schmidt et al, J Med Case Reports, Woman taking medication/© ozgurcankaya / Getty Images / iStock (symbolic image with model), Close-up of gloved hand filling syringe from a vial/© New Africa / stock.adobe.com, Leg ulcers in patient with ulcerative cutaneous sarcoidosis/© 2025, Nabil Belfeki et al, under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature, Rheumatol Int, Skin rash in patient with ALS, CLL, and SLR/© 2025, Joumana Freiha et al, BMC Neurol, 3D render of circulatory system/© magicmine / Stock.adobe.com, Placing a catheter for administering IV drugs/© flywish / stock.adobe.com, ECG during implant demonstrating activation during left branch bundle area pacing/© Hopman et al. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 23, 621 (2023) (CC BY 4.0)