ReviewRheumatology international2026
Vagus nerve stimulation in rheumatic diseases: linking autonomic nervous system regulation, inflammation, and clinical outcomes.
Review in Rheumatology international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases most often exhibit sympathetic overactivity and dominance at the expense of the parasympathetic system, including the vagus nerve. It leads to dysfunction of the negative feedback mechanism within the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, resulting in impaired regulation of cortisol levels, stress responses, and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, vagal dysfunction affects the mechanism by which acetylcholine binds to α7 nicotinic receptors on macrophage surfaces, thereby inhibiting the release of TNF-α and other pro-inflammatory cytokines. The aim of this review was to identify reports elucidating the mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of the vagus nerve and to evaluate the efficacy of VNS as a potential method for modulating autonomic nervous system function. A literature search was conducted using the electronic databases PubMed, focusing on the role of the vagus nerve in autoimmune disorders, and on vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). Based on the collected data, a reduction in inflammatory activity and decreased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines were observed following vagus nerve stimulation. Moreover, the authors of the studies analyzed reported additional therapeutic effects, including pain modulation, suppression of disease activity, and a reduction in fatigue. Vagus nerve stimulation represents a promising alternative therapeutic modality for the treatment of rheumatologic diseases. However, further high-quality studies conducted in substantially larger cohorts are required, taking into account variability in stimulation parameters and their differential impact on clinical outcomes.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.