The Role of Virology in Rheumatic Disease, with Leonard Calabrese, DO

Although they may seem like separate fields, researchers are finding more and more interactions between virology and rheumatology. Virology may be implicated in the etiology of rheumatic diseases, comorbid viral infections may play a role in treating patients with rheumatic diseases, and certain forms of therapy for rheumatic diseases may leave a patient vulnerable to viral infections.

We're in a new world. The past 4 years, coming out of the pandemic, [we have a] new appreciation of the power of viral pathogens. But as we reflect on the whole field of medical virology, it's a relatively new field. It was only in the past 20 years that we recognized the vast scope of viral agents on our planet. And while we talk a lot about the microbiome, we're only now starting to talk about the micro-virome,”Leonard H. Calabrese, DO, Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair, Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, told HCPLive.

Calabrese will be giving a talk on the multi-faceted role of viral infections in the field of rheumatology at the 2024 Congress of Clinical Rheumatology (CCR) West meeting, heading to San Diego, California, on September 26-29.HCPLive spoke with Calabrese ahead of the meeting to learn more about how medical virology relates to rheumatic disease. He also emphasized a growing need for rheumatologists to more learn more about virology to better care for their patients.

“Rheumatologists really have a strong need to build their confidence both to understand some of the declarative knowledge about viruses and immune based diseases, and procedural knowledge [about] actually how to manage patients and diagnosis when it's important,” Calabrese said.

Relevant disclosures for Calabrese include AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Galvani, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Novartis, Regeneron, Sanofi and UCB. Quotes have been edited for clarity.

REFERENCE

Calabrese LH. Viral Infections in Rheumatic Disease 2024: Etiology Management and Prevention. Presented at: 2024 CCR West Meeting; San Diego, California; September 26-29.