Publications by authors named "Frans Kroese"

Objective: Sjögren's disease (SjD) can have a major impact on sexual functioning, but this topic has received limited attention in research and clinical practice. This qualitative study investigated how SjD affects sexual experience and functioning in both women and men.

Method: Reflexive thematic analysis was performed based on in-depth interviews with patients with SjD.

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Objective: Radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA) is a chronic rheumatic disease in which innate immune cells and T cells are thought to play a major role. However, recent studies also hint at B cell involvement. Here, we performed an in-depth analysis on alterations within the B-cell compartment from r-axSpA patients.

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Objectives: The objectives are to evaluate variation in systemic disease activity (European Alliance of Associations For Rheumatology (EULAR) Sjögren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI)) over time at group and individual patient level and to assess associations of ESSDAI low disease activity (LDA) with other outcome measures in a standard-of-care cohort of patients with Sjögren's disease (SjD).

Methods: Patients with SjD participating in a prospective longitudinal study (REgistry of Sjögren Syndrome LongiTudinal cohort) fulfilling the 2016 American College of Rheumatology/EULAR classification criteria with ≥2 years of follow-up were included. ESSDAI was assessed at least yearly, up to 5 years.

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Article Synopsis
  • CD21 B cells are a type of immune cell that show increased numbers in patients with rheumatic diseases, including common autoimmune conditions and autoinflammatory diseases like axial spondyloarthritis.
  • Researchers studied the B-cell receptor repertoire using next-generation sequencing to understand the origins and relationships of these CD21 B cells and their development into more mutated forms (like plasmablasts) in patients compared to healthy individuals.
  • The findings suggest that expanded CD27CD21 B cells in autoimmune and autoinflammatory patients may play a significant role in contributing to harmful immune responses associated with these diseases.
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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.

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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.

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Objective: In our prospective cohort with standardized bi-annual measurements of bone mineral density (BMD) and spinal radiographs, we evaluated the long-term course of BMD and the development of radiographic vertebral fractures (VFs) during 8 years of TNFi treatment in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA).

Methods: Consecutive axSpA patients from the GLAS cohort receiving TNFi for ≥8 years were included. Patients who received anti-osteoporotic treatment were excluded.

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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.

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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.
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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.

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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.

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Background: Our objective was to explore bone-related outcome and bone turnover markers (BTM) during 2 years of secukinumab treatment in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA) in daily clinical practice.

Methods: Included were consecutive r-axSpA outpatients from the Groningen Leeuwarden axSpA (GLAS) cohort treated with secukinumab for 2 years. At baseline and 2 years, spinal radiographic damage was assessed using the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spinal Score (mSASSS; 0-72), cervical facet joint involvement according the "de Vlam" scoring method (0-15) and radiographic vertebral fractures (VF) using the "Genant" method (grade 0-3).

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Objectives: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the power of salivary electrolytes for the diagnosis of Sjögren's disease (SjD).

Methods: A literature search was conducted (last search March 2023) using PubMed and Web of Science and completed with a manual search. Articles were screened for reports of human salivary ion concentrations, comparing SjD patients with healthy controls and/or sicca patients.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the labial salivary gland biopsy based on multiple histopathological features in patients with suspected primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS).

Methods: Patients from a diagnostic sicca cohort with clinically suspected pSS who underwent a labial gland biopsy were included. Patients were categorized as having pSS or non-Sjögren syndrome sicca (non-SS sicca) based on vignettes scored by an expert panel.

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Introduction: Despite ongoing efforts to develop effective therapeutics, no disease-modifying drugs have been officially licensed for the indication of Sjögren's disease (SjD). This is partly due to heterogeneity in disease manifestations, which complicates drug target selection, trial design and interpretation of clinical efficacy in SjD.

Areas Covered: Here, we summarize developments and comment on challenges in 1) identifying the right target for treatment, 2) selection of the primary study endpoint for trials and definition of clinically relevant response to treatment, 3) inclusion criteria and patient stratification, 4) distinguishing between disease activity and damage and 5) establishing the effect of treatment considering measurement error, natural variation, and placebo or nocebo responses.

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Background And Purpose: High label uptake in 68 Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT recently identified a bilateral nasopharyngeal structure as a salivary gland (SG)-like additional 'area of interest', to be considered in conditions affecting SGs. These structures were termed 'tubarial glands'. We aimed to further characterize their histological and immunohistochemical position compared to established SGs.

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Plasma cells are the antibody secretors of the immune system. Continuous antibody secretion over years can provide long-term immune protection but could also be held responsible for long-lasting autoimmunity in case of self-reactive plasma cells. Systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) affect multiple organ systems and are associated with a plethora of different autoantibodies.

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Background: Rheumatoid factors (RF) are one of the hallmark autoantibodies characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and are frequently observed in other diseases and in healthy individuals. RFs comprise multiple subtypes with different specificities towards the constant region of human IgG. Studies indicate that these patterns differ between naturally occurring RFs and RFs associated with disease.

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Background: Primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease that is embodied by the loss of salivary gland function and immune cell infiltration, but the mechanism(s) are still unknown. The aim of this study was to understand the mechanisms and identify key factors that leads to the development and progression of pSS.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry staining, FACS analysis and cytokine levels were used to detect immune cells infiltration and activation in salivary glands.

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Background: Bone turnover balance favors bone formation, especially mineralization, during the first 3 years of treatment with TNF-α inhibitors (TNFi). Our aim was to evaluate the course of serum bone turnover markers (BTM) and to investigate if facilitation of mineralization reflected by BTM BALP continues to increase during 6 years of TNFi treatment in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in daily clinical practice.

Methods: Included were outpatients from the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) participating in the Groningen Leeuwarden Axial SpA (GLAS) cohort who were treated with TNFi for at least 6 years.

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Objectives: To assess the usefulness of [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/CT (i) to discriminate between primary SS (pSS) patients with and without lymphomas and (ii) to evaluate systemic disease activity in pSS.

Methods: ACR-EULAR-positive pSS patients who underwent FDG-PET/CT were included. Scans were visually evaluated and quantitative analysis was performed by measuring standardized uptake values (SUV) of salivary and lacrimal glands and systemic regions.

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