Patients' recollection about the onset of Sjögren's disease - a mixed methods study on the patients' perspective.

Background: Little is known about the symptoms at the onset of Sjögren's Disease (SjD) and it is unclear whether SjD starts with characteristic symptoms that could be differentiated from dryness of other origin (sicca syndrome). The aim of this study was to investigate patients' recollection of initial events and first symptoms of SjD. The second aim was to verify and quantify these aspects in a representative cohort.

The role of B cells in immune cell activation in polycystic ovary syndrome.

Variations in B cell numbers are associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) through unknown mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate that B cells are not central mediators of PCOS pathology and that their frequencies are altered as a direct effect of androgen receptor activation. Hyperandrogenic women with PCOS have increased frequencies of age-associated double-negative B memory cells and increased levels of circulating immunoglobulin M (IgM).

Altered cellular immune response to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in patients suffering from autoimmunity with B-cell depleting therapy.

B-cell depleting therapies result in diminished humoral immunity following vaccination against COVID-19, but our understanding on the impact on cellular immune responses is limited. Here, we performed a detailed analysis of cellular immunity following mRNA vaccination in patients receiving B-cell depleting therapy using ELISpot assay and flow cytometry. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain antibody assays were performed to elucidate B-cell responses.

Association of immunological parameters with aortic dilatation in giant cell arteritis: a cross-sectional study.

Aortic dilatation (AD) occurs in up to 30% of patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Reliable biomarkers for AD development, however, are still absent. The aim of this exploratory study was to evaluate whether immunological parameters are associated with the occurrence of AD in GCA.

Sjögren syndrome: looking forward to the future.

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a heterogeneous disease characterised by a wide spectrum of manifestations that vary according to the different stages of the disease and among different subsets of patients. The aim of this qualitative literature review is to summarise the recent advances that have been reported in pSS, ranging from the early phases to the established disease and its complications. We analysed the diagnostic, prognostic, and management aspects of pSS, with a look into future clinical and research developments.

Patterns of Peripheral Blood B-Cell Subtypes Are Associated With Treatment Response in Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Prospective Longitudinal Pan-Cancer Study.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized systemic anti-tumor treatments across different types of cancer. Nevertheless, predictive biomarkers regarding treatment response are not routinely established yet. Apart from T-lymphocytes, the humoral immunity of B-lymphocytes is studied to a substantially lesser extent in the respective setting.

Membranous nephropathy associated with immunoglobulin G4-related disease successfully treated with obinutuzumab.

Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-releated disease is typically associated with interstitial nephritis, but rare cases of idiopathic membranous nephropathy as a renal manifestation have been described. Obinutuzumab was successfully used in refractory membranous nephropathy, but evidence for the treatment of IgG4-related disease with obinutuzumab is lacking. We report one patient's case with membranous nephropathy associated with IgG4-related disease who was treated with obinutuzumab following an anaphylactic reaction to rituximab.

The Association of Blood Biomarkers and Body Mass Index in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: Despite massive efforts, there are no diagnostic blood biomarkers for knee osteoarthritis (KOA). This study investigated several candidate diagnostic biomarkers and the metabolic phenotype in end-stage KOA in the context of obesity.

Design: In this cross-sectional study, adult patients undergoing knee arthroplasty were enrolled and KOA severity was assessed using the Lequesne index.

CD19+IgD+CD27- Naïve B Cells as Predictors of Humoral Response to COVID 19 mRNA Vaccination in Immunocompromised Patients.

Immunocompromised patients are considered high-risk and prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19. We aimed to analyze B-cell subsets in these patients to identify potential predictors of humoral vaccination response. Patients (n=120) suffering from hematologic malignancies or other causes of immunodeficiency and healthy controls (n=79) received a full vaccination series with an mRNA vaccine.

Evaluation of Endothelial Dysfunction and Inflammatory Vasculopathy After SARS-CoV-2 Infection-A Cross-Sectional Study.

Rising data suggest that COVID-19 affects vascular endothelium while the underlying mechanisms promoting COVID-19-associated endothelial dysfunction and inflammatory vasculopathy are largely unknown. The aim was to evaluate the contribution of COVID-19 to persisting vascular injury and to identify parameters linked to COVID-19-associated endothelial dysfunction and inflammatory vasculopathy. In a cross-sectional design, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), nitroglycerine-related dilation (NMD), pulse-wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index, intima-media thickness (IMT), compounds of the arginine and kynurenine metabolism, homocysteine, von Willebrand factor (vWF), endothelial microparticles (EMP), antiendothelial cell antibodies, inflammatory, and immunological parameters, as well as nailfold capillary morphology were measured in post-COVID-19 patients, patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) and healthy controls without prior or recent SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases and Vascular Function: The Concept of Autoimmune Atherosclerosis.

Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AIRDs) with unknown etiology are increasing in incidence and prevalence. Up to 5% of the population is affected. AIRDs include rheumatoid arthritis, system lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and Sjögren's syndrome.

Ultrasound in osteoarthritis of the hand: a comparison to computed tomography and histology.

Objective: To compare structural findings between US, micro-CT (µCT) and histology in people with OA of the hands.

Methods: We analysed DIP and PIP joints of 31 fingers from 15 dissecting-room cadavers with OA of the hands. The occurrence of bone erosions and osteophytes were recorded by US, µCT and histology at 16 regions for each joint and compared for each method.

Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 4 (FABP4) Is Associated with Cartilage Thickness in End-Stage Knee Osteoarthritis.

Background: There is no single blood biomarker for the staging of knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of obesity, serum biomarkers, the hip-knee-ankle angle (HKAA) with sonographic cartilage thickness.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of = 33 patients undergoing knee arthroplasty.

Go Ask Your Patients! PSS-QoL Reported Perception of Dryness Correlates With Lacrimal and Salivary Flow in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

The patient perspective is an essential outcome parameter in the quest for effective therapy in primary Sjögren's Syndrome (PSS). The EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI) is recommended by EULAR to quantify patient's symptom burden and has been used in several clinical trials. Surprisingly, the patient's perception of dryness quantified with ESSPRI does not correlate with objective measures of salivary or lacrimal flow.

T Cell Phenotyping in Individuals Hospitalized with COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has become pandemic. Cytokine release syndrome occurring in a minority of SARS-CoV-2 infections is associated with severe disease and high mortality. We profiled the composition, activation, and proliferation of T cells in 20 patients with severe or critical COVID-19 and 40 matched healthy controls by flow cytometry.

The use and diagnostic value of testing myositis-specific and myositis-associated autoantibodies by line immuno-assay: a retrospective study.

Aims: Line immune-assays (LIA) for the detection of myositis-specific antibodies (MSA) are used widely for characterization of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). Their current use and significance for the diagnosis of IIM remains unclear.

Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we retrieved clinical diagnoses of patients tested for MSA and myositis-associated antibodies (MAA) Jo-1, Mi-2α, Mi-2β, TIF1γ, SRP, MDA-5, NXP-2, SAE, PL-7, PL-12, EJ, OJ, PM-Scl100, PM-Scl75 and Ku.

Salivary Gland Ultrasonography in Sjögren's Syndrome: A European Multicenter Reliability Exercise for the HarmonicSS Project.

Salivary gland ultrasonography (SGUS) is increasingly applied for the management of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). This study aims to: (i) compare the reliability between two SGUS scores; (ii) test the reliability among sonographers with different levels of experience. In the reliability exercise, two four-grade semi-quantitative SGUS scoring systems, namely De Vita et al.

Rheumatic Musculoskeletal Diseases and COVID-19 A Review of the First 6 Months of the Pandemic.

In December 2019, a cluster of severe pneumonia was observed in China, with the subsequent discovery of a new beta-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) as the causative agent. The elicited disease COVID-19 is characterized by fever, dry cough, myalgia, or fatigue and has a favorable outcome in the majority of cases. However, in some patients COVID-19 leads to severe pneumonia and sepsis with subsequent respiratory failure and gastrointestinal, hematological, neurological, and cardiovascular complications.

The Effect of Body Mass Index and Metformin on Matrix Gene Expression in Arthritic Primary Human Chondrocytes.

Objective: Obesity is a known risk factor for knee osteoarthritis (OA). Diabetes has been associated with progression of OA and metformin is the first-line treatment in type 2 diabetes. The effect of the body mass index (BMI) and metformin on the expression of certain matrix genes in human chondrocytes is unclear.

Lymphopenia in primary Sjögren's syndrome is associated with premature aging of naïve CD4+ T cells.

Objective: To investigate peripheral lymphopenia, a frequent finding in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) associated with higher disease activity and increased mortality.

Methods: Prospective, cross-sectional study of consecutive patients with pSS (n = 66) and healthy controls (n = 181). Lymphocyte subsets were analysed by flow cytometry, naïve (CD45RA+) and memory (CD45RO+) CD4+ T cells were purified by MACS technology.