Publications by authors named "Beek A"

This study aims to give a comprehensive overview of the one anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) during 5 years of follow-up in terms of weight loss, the remission of obesity-associated diseases and complications. We performed a retrospective cohort study, with a 1:1 propensity-score matched (PSM) comparison between all adult patients who underwent a primary OAGB or RYGB in 2016. Patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥50 kg/m were excluded.

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Intermittent scanning continuous glucose monitoring (is-CGM) technology has gained widespread adoption and is known to improve glycemic control and quality of life for persons with diabetes. The elderly may lag behind in their adoption of the technology, which could be a potential avenue for improving quality of care. In this study, we investigated the adoption of is-CGM technology in the Dutch population, including effects of age.

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  • Schistosomes are skilled at evading human immunity, particularly the complement system, allowing them to survive in human blood for years; this study explores how they interact with this immune response.
  • The research shows that newly formed schistosomula are initially very vulnerable to complement attack, but they can rapidly boost their survival rate, especially when they recruit complement regulator factor H to avoid destruction.
  • The use of the drug praziquantel increases the susceptibility of schistosomula to complement-mediated killing, suggesting that further investigation into factor H's role could help develop new treatments against schistosomes.
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Introduction: Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 50 kg/m2 is more challenging for the bariatric surgeon, because of a thicker abdominal wall, more visceral fat, and hepatomegaly by liver steatosis. This study aims to give an overview of 5-year outcomes after OAGB and RYGB in these patients in terms of weight loss, remission of comorbidities, and complications.

Methods: This retrospective single-center cohort study focused on patients with BMI ≥ 50 kg/m2 undergoing OAGB or RYGB between 2015 and 2017 at a non-academic teaching hospital in the Netherlands.

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  • This study compares outcomes of one anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) over 5 years, addressing limitations of previous research like small sample sizes and short follow-ups.
  • After matching 860 patients in each group, OAGB showed a higher rate of intraoperative complications, while RYGB had more short-term complications.
  • Both procedures resulted in similar weight loss, but OAGB was more effective in achieving remission of hypertension, despite equivalent diabetes remission rates.
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Personalized and self-initiated dietary adjustments have been shown to alleviate mental and somatic complaints. Here, we investigated the potential role of gut microbiome alterations underlying these effects. For this purpose, participants (n = 185) underwent a four-week self-initiated dietary intervention and filled out weekly questionnaires on their dietary intake, somatic and mental symptoms, and physical activity.

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  • Semaglutide, a drug for type 2 diabetes, shows promise in reducing albuminuria and slowing kidney disease progression in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a double-blind clinical trial.
  • The study involved 101 participants, comparing those receiving 2.4 mg of semaglutide weekly to a placebo, with a focus on changes in urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio after 24 weeks.
  • Results indicated a significant 52.1% reduction in albuminuria for the semaglutide group, although gastrointestinal side effects were more common compared to the placebo group.
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Background: Neck and low back pain are prevalent issues among office workers due to prolonged sitting, necessitating effective interventions. Dynamic seat cushion, designed to promote postural shifts, have emerged as promising solutions to address this concern. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a dynamic seat cushion on recovery and recurrence of neck and/or low back pain in office workers.

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  • Current methods for producing graphene nanoplatelets are not scalable or sustainable, hindering their industrial use in electronics and composites.
  • Researchers developed a new method using carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from grass as a green dispersant for creating graphene, achieving a conversion yield of 13.4%.
  • This new technique not only improves efficiency and conductivity in printed electronics but also significantly reduces fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional methods.
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Purpose: Achieving endocrine remission by gross total resection is challenging in pituitary neuroendocrine tumours (PitNETs) with cavernous sinus invasion. This study aims to assess the safety, feasibility, and optimal dose for intraoperative fluorescence imaging as an added instrument to discriminate PitNET from surrounding tissue using bevacizumab-800CW, targeting vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A).

Methods: In part I, dose-escalation (0-4∙5-10-25 mg) was performed in 4 groups of 3 patients with PitNETs Knosp grade 3-4.

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Background: There is insufficient evidence to provide recommendations for leisure-time physical activity among workers across various occupational physical activity levels. This study aimed to assess the association of leisure-time physical activity with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality across occupational physical activity levels.

Methods: This study utilized individual participant data from 21 cohort studies, comprising both published and unpublished data.

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Objective: Health effects of different physical activity domains (ie, during leisure time, work and transport) are generally considered positive. Using data, we assessed independent associations of occupational and leisure-time physical activity (OPA and LTPA) with all-cause mortality.

Design: Two-stage individual participant data meta-analysis.

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Background: Patients with overweight and obesity are at increased risk of death from multiple causes, including cardiovascular (CV) death, with few therapies proven to reduce the risk.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the effect of semaglutide 2.4 mg on all-cause death, CV death, and non-CV death, including subcategories of death and death from coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

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Background: Tailoring the biliopancreatic limb length in one anastomosis gastric bypass is proposed as beneficial in retrospective studies, yet randomized trials are lacking. The aim of this double-blind, single-centre RCT was to ascertain whether tailoring biliopancreatic limb length based on total small bowel length (TSBL) results in superior outcomes after one anastomosis gastric bypass compared with a fixed 150 cm biliopancreatic limb length.

Methods: Eligible patients, meeting International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) criteria for metabolic bariatric surgery, scheduled for primary one anastomosis gastric bypass surgery, and willing to be randomized, underwent TSBL measurement during surgery.

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Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of the promotion of postural shift intervention using a dynamic seat cushion on the 6-month incidence of neck and low-back pain among high-risk office workers.

Methods: In a cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT), 133 office workers were randomly assigned, at cluster level, to intervention (N=67) and control (N=66) groups. The intervention group received a dynamic seat cushion to encourage postural shifts during sitting, while the control group received a placebo seat pad.

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Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a curative treatment for various hematological, immunological and metabolic diseases, replacing the patient's hematopoietic system with donor-derived healthy hematopoietic stem cells. HSCT can be complicated by early and late events related to impaired immunological recovery such as prolonged hypogammaglobulinemia post-HSCT. We present a 16-year-old female patient with sickle-cell disease who underwent HSCT with stem cells from a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class-II mismatched family donor.

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Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with mismatched unrelated donors (MMUD) is associated with inferior outcome compared with matched unrelated donors (MUDs). We aimed to identify permissible mismatches using HLA epitope mismatch algorithm, which determines permissibility by analyzing amino acid sequences, in a single-center cohort of 70 pediatric 9/10 MMUD HSCTs and 157 10/10 MUDs for comparison. Amino acid matching was evaluated for the whole HLA protein, the α-helices, and the β-sheets, in both host vs graft (HvG) and graft vs host (GvH) direction.

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We investigated the effect of two dynamic seat cushions on postural shift, trunk muscle activation and spinal discomfort. In this repeated-measures study, 30 healthy office workers were randomly assigned to a sequence of three conditions: sitting on a dynamic seat cushion-A, cushion-B and control (no seat cushion). The two dynamic seat cushions had different inflation levels.

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  • The extensor pollicis longus (EPL) is a crucial muscle for thumb extension, and its rupture can significantly impair hand function in patients.
  • This systematic review investigates various traumatic causes of EPL rupture, beyond the commonly known issue of distal radius fractures, to enhance understanding of this rare injury.
  • The study analyzed 37 articles, revealing that while distal radius fractures are the primary cause, other factors like lacerations and blunt trauma also contribute to EPL rupture cases.
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In the SELECT cardiovascular outcomes trial, semaglutide showed a 20% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events in 17,604 adults with preexisting cardiovascular disease, overweight or obesity, without diabetes. Here in this prespecified analysis, we examined effects of semaglutide on weight and anthropometric outcomes, safety and tolerability by baseline body mass index (BMI). In patients treated with semaglutide, weight loss continued over 65 weeks and was sustained for up to 4 years.

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Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) occurs frequently after haplo-identical allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy), increasing nonrelapse mortality (NRM) and decreasing survival. Data on CRS in HLA-matched alloSCT are limited and effects of specific HLA-mismatches on CRS development unknown. We hypothesized that in HLA-matched alloSCT increasing degrees of HLA-mismatching influence CRS incidence, NRM and survival.

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OTU deubiquitinase with linear linkage specificity (OTULIN) regulates inflammation and cell death by deubiquitinating linear ubiquitin chains generated by the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC). Biallelic loss-of-function mutations causes OTULIN-related autoinflammatory syndrome (ORAS), while OTULIN haploinsuffiency has not been associated with spontaneous inflammation. However, herein, we identify two patients with the heterozygous mutation p.

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Introduction: Determining limb length in gastric bypass procedures is a crucial step to ensure significant weight loss without risking malnutrition. This study investigated the effect of ex vivo training on the skills needed to determine limb lengths.

Materials And Methods: This was a single-center ex vivo training experiment in a teaching hospital in the Netherlands.

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  • The study investigated how different diets (low-fat vs. high-fat/sucrose) affected weight loss after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery in rats.
  • Rats fed a high-fat/sucrose diet lost more weight post-surgery compared to those on a low-fat diet, primarily due to lower energy intake and initial body weight differences.
  • Interestingly, continuing the high-fat/sucrose diet did not hinder recovery from surgery, even though low-fat dieting led to signs of malaise following RYGB.
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