Publications by authors named "Bootsma H"
Objectives: Salivary gland ultrasound (SGUS) has an interest in primary Sjögren's disease (pSD) for diagnosis, but the evolution of parenchymal lesions over time is unknown. The objective of this study was to assess the severity of ultrasound abnormalities in relation to pSD duration from the time of buccal dryness onset.
Methods: In this cross-sectional international multicentre study, patients with pSD according to the 2002 or 2016 ACR/EULAR classification criteria were included.
Objectives: To analyse intraobserver and interobserver reliability of colour Doppler (CD) ultrasonography of the major salivary glands (SGUS) in patients clinically suspected of Sjögren's disease (SjD).
Methods: One hundred consecutive outpatients visiting the University Medical Center Groningen for a diagnostic trajectory because of a suspicion of SjD were evaluated using CD ultrasonography of the submandibular and parotid salivary glands. All images were independently assessed by four observers (two experienced observers, one lesser experienced resident, one inexperienced trainee) in two sessions using the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) CD scoring system (scale 0-3).
Objectives: This study aimed to assess (1) effects of abatacept on salivary gland histology of Sjögren's disease (SjD) patients, (2) the predictive value of salivary gland histopathological characteristics at baseline for clinical response to abatacept treatment.
Methods: Patients (n=41) who participated in the Dutch ASAP-II and ASAP-III trials and international abatacept trial (IM101603) from whom a labial (n=13) or parotid (n=28) salivary gland biopsy was obtained at baseline and after 24 weeks of treatment with abatacept were included. Biopsies were analysed for SjD related histopathological features before and after abatacept (n=25) or placebo (n=16) treatment.
Sjögren's disease is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterised by hyperactivation of B-cells and cytokine production. The condition may evolve from an asymptomatic, indolent course, with glandular involvement, to several extra-glandular systemic manifestations up to lymphoma development. Recent efforts have been undertaken to identify patient phenotypes at risk of developing specific extraglandular manifestations in order to improve patient management.
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- The study aimed to evaluate the modified Short Questionnaire to Assess Health enhancing physical activity (mSQUASH) in patients with Sjögren's disease (SjD) and other rheumatic diseases, focusing on its validity and reliability.
- Researchers conducted interviews with different patient groups to ensure the mSQUASH was understood and relevant, finding fair correlations with other health measures and overall good test-retest reliability.
- Results suggest the mSQUASH is a valid and reliable tool for assessing daily physical activity in patients with SjD, indicating it can effectively measure exercise levels in this population.
Background: The modified Short QUestionnaire to ASsess Health-enhancing physical activity (mSQUASH) was originally developed and validated in Dutch patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). To support world-wide distribution, applicability and comparability of measuring physical activity, our aim was to perform translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the mSQUASH into English, field testing in other rheumatic diseases and clinical validation in patients with axSpA.
Methods: The Dutch mSQUASH was translated into English according to forward-backward Beaton protocol.
Article Synopsis
- The Landscape Theory of Food Web Architecture (LTFWA) explores how body size, trophic position, and energy channels interconnect in diverse habitats to maintain system stability, but evidence has been inconsistent across different ecosystems.
- In a study of the Lake Michigan food web, researchers found a positive correlation between body size and trophic position, with variations based on whether species were supported by pelagic or benthic energy sources.
- The findings indicated that while native top predators contribute to food web stability by connecting energy pathways, introduced species may disrupt this structure, highlighting the complex impacts of human activity on ecosystem dynamics.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the histopathological features of the parotid glands in patients with paediatric-onset Sjögren's disease (pedSjD) in comparison to patients with adult-onset Sjögren's disease (adSjD).
Methods: This study was performed in Groningen, the Netherlands. Patients with pedSjD from a diagnostic paediatric cohort (n=19), patients with adSjD from a diagnostic adult cohort (n=32) and patients with adSjD who participated in a clinical trial (n=42) with a baseline parotid gland biopsy were included.
Background: Sjögren's disease is a chronic autoimmune disease with an unmet need for targeted therapies. The aim of the TWINSS study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of iscalimab, a monoclonal antibody against CD40, in patients with active Sjögren's disease.
Methods: This randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2b study, conducted at 71 sites in 23 countries, enrolled patients aged 18 years or older fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) 2016 criteria.
Introduction: The complex nature of Sjögren's Disease (SjD) necessitates a comprehensive and patient-centered approach in both diagnosis and management. This narrative review emphasizes the need for a holistic understanding of the connection between salivary gland inflammation and oral symptoms in SjD.
Areas Covered: The intricate relationship between salivary gland inflammation and dry mouth is explored, highlighting the variability in associations reported in studies.
Objectives: To assess whether addition of the salivary gland ultrasonography (SGUS) OMERACT score influences the performance of the 2016 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for Sjögren's disease (SjD) in daily clinical practice.
Methods: Patients visiting the Sjögren Expertise centre in the University Medical Center Groningen for a diagnostic trajectory because of a suspicion of SjD were included. SGUS was performed of both parotid and submandibular glands.
Article Synopsis
- Research aimed to analyze the levels of low-density granulocytes (LDGs), neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), and serum-induced NET formation in patients with incomplete systemic lupus erythematosus (iSLE) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
- The study involved comparing LDG and NET levels across groups of iSLE patients, SLE patients, and healthy controls, finding that both iSLE and SLE patients had higher levels of LDGs and NETs compared to healthy individuals, with those on hydroxychloroquine having lower LDG levels.
- The findings suggest that neutrophil dysfunction, seen through increased LDGs and NET formation, is present in iSLE
Objective: To evaluate daily physical activity (PA) in relation to psychosocial factors, such as anxiety, depression and different types of coping strategies, as well as patient- and disease-related factors in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).
Methods: Consecutive outpatients from the Groningen Leeuwarden AxSpA (GLAS) cohort completed the modified Short Questionnaire to assess health-enhancing PA (mSQUASH), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Coping with Rheumatic Stressors (CORS) questionnaires, as well as standardized patient- and disease-related assessments. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses and comparison of lowest and highest PA tertiles were performed to explore associations between the HADS, CORS, patient- and disease-related factors and PA.
Background: The effect of the vitamin K antagonist acenocoumarol on coagulation needs to be reversed when patients undergo an invasive procedure with considerable bleeding risk. A strategy to achieve this is by administering oral vitamin K before a procedure while continuing acenocoumarol.
Objectives: To assess the effect on periprocedural international normalized ratio (INR) values and safety using oral vitamin K as anticoagulant reversal method.
Article Synopsis
- Vaginal dryness significantly impacts sexual function in women with primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS), with previous studies indicating increased inflammation in their vaginal tissue compared to non-pSS individuals.
- A study examined vaginal biopsies from 8 pSS patients and 7 control subjects, using advanced gene expression analysis and immunohistochemistry to investigate inflammatory pathways.
- Findings revealed that the interferon (IFN) signaling pathway was notably more active in pSS vaginal tissue, suggesting that IFNs may play a key role in the inflammation linked to vaginal dryness and contribute to clinical symptoms in these patients.
Objectives: To compare focus score and other histopathological features between paired labial and parotid salivary gland biopsies in a diagnostic cohort of suspected Sjögren's disease (SjD) patients.
Methods: Labial and parotid salivary gland biopsies were simultaneously obtained from patients with sicca complaints, suspected of having SjD. Biopsies were formalin fixed and paraffin embedded.
Objective: Immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are considered pathogenic, whereas immunoglobulin M (IgM) autoantibodies may have protective effects. The aim of this study was to identify whether IgG/IgM autoantibody ratios differ between patients with incomplete systemic lupus erythematosus (iSLE), patients with SLE, and healthy controls (HCs), and whether IgG/IgM autoantibody ratios relate to progression from iSLE to SLE.
Method: This prospective cohort study included 34 iSLE patients, 41 SLE patients, and 11 HCs.
Article Synopsis
- Sjögren's disease (SjD) is a complex autoimmune condition characterized by symptoms like dryness, pain, and fatigue, affecting various organ systems in different ways.
- The variability in symptoms among patients complicates the development of effective treatments, highlighting the need to better understand the disease.
- In 2023, the OMERACT SjD Working Group held a hybrid meeting to review research and establish core disease domains that reflect both clinical features and patient experiences, ultimately producing a provisional domain list to address SjD's diversity.
Objectives: To evaluate changes in major salivary gland functioning over time using salivary gland ultrasonography (SGUS), salivary flow measurements (sialometry), and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in patients diagnosed with primary Sjögren's disease (SjD).
Methods: Consecutive outpatients from the ongoing prospective REgistry of Sjögren Syndrome LongiTudinal (RESULT) cohort, all fulfilling the ACR-EULAR classification criteria for SjD, were included. SGUS images assessed with the Hocevar and OMERACT scoring system, unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva (UWS/SWS), unstimulated and stimulated submandibular/sublingual saliva (uSMSLS/sSMSLS) and parotid saliva, EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI) general dryness, oral dryness, and Xerostomia Inventory were assessed at baseline (BL), 2-year (Y2) and 5-year (Y5) follow-up.