Recent Publications

Current management of choledocholithiasis entails the use of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and clearance of the common bile duct. A rare complication of this procedure is the impaction of the basket by a large stone, which necessitates lithotripsy. Here we report a case of an impacted basket during ERCP, which was managed by open surgery with a duodenotomy and the manual removal of the basket. (Ibrahim Abu Shakra, Amitai Bickel, Mahran Badran, Fahed Merei, Samer Ganam, Walid Kassis, Eli Kakiashvili)

Rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) can improve adequacy rates of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and thus save operational costs. Our aim was to assess cost-efficacy of ROSE performed during endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-FNA of gastrointestinal lesions.

Evaluates the effect of medical cannabis consumption on oral flora and saliva.

The BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine showed high efficacy in clinical trials but observational data from populations not included in trials are needed. We describe immunogenicity 21 days post-dose 1 among 514 Israeli healthcare workers by age, ethnicity, sex and prior COVID-19 infection. Immunogenicity was similar by ethnicity and sex but decreased with age. Those with prior infection had antibody titres one magnitude order higher than naïve individuals regardless of the presence of detectable IgG antibodies pre-vaccination. (Kamal Abu Jabal, Hila Ben-Amram, Karine Beiruti, Yunis Batheesh, Christian Sussan, Salman Zarka, Michael Edelstein)

The interactions between antibodies, SARS-CoV-2 and immune cells contribute to the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and protective immunity. To understand the differences between antibody responses in mild versus severe cases of COVID-19, we analyzed the B cell responses in patients 1.5 months post SARS-CoV-2 infection. 

The origin of provoked vulvodynia (PV), the main cause of entry dyspareunia, remains unclear, and the treatment is empiric. In this study, we aimed to investigate the long-term effects of physical therapy on PV in subjects using questionnaire concerning PV symptoms immediately after physical therapy and at least 10 years later.

Protein C global assay tests the global function of the protein C pathway, the most clinically significant anticoagulant pathway in humans. The objective of this study is to assess the difference in protein C global assay levels, throughout twin gestation, in naturally conceiving and ART-treated women. (Johnny S Younis, Mariana Issawy,  Izhar Ben-Shlomo, Sofia Soltsman, Yuri Perlitz, Moshe Ben-Ami)

Previous research has demonstrated that various properties of infectious diseases can be inferred from online search behaviour. In this work we use time series of online search query frequencies to gain insights about the prevalence of COVID-19 in multiple countries.

Examines the clinical, demographic, and microbiologic characteristics of new rectal carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CP-CRE) carriers vs. those with a clinical infection, hospitalized at Padeh-Poriya Medical Center between 2014 and 2017 and to examine the susceptibility profiles of isolates from clinical infections. 

While we believe that Israel should indeed offer the Palestinian Authority supplies of vaccine, the calumny by the Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance (LPHA) in The Lancet takes the cake. First, under international law and according to the Oslo Accords, Israel is actually under no legal obligation to offer medical aid to the Palestinian Authority, which is the statutory body responsible for the health of Palestinians. Certainly, not any more than the UK owes Ireland....We ask for a little perspective and fairness, please.

The focus of this article is on how parents of children with "nonnormative" genitalia cope with the conflict between the genital socialization process and their children's genital autonomy in the Israeli medical-sociocultural context.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of death and morbidity globally and is a leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Incidence of HCV infections, as well as HCV-related liver diseases, are increasing. Although now, with new direct acting antivirals (DAAs) therapy available, HCV is a curable cancer-associated infectious agent, HCC prevalence is expected to continue to rise because HCC risk still persists after HCV cure. Understanding the factors that lead from HCV infection to HCC pre- and post-cure may open-up opportunities to novel strategies for HCC prevention. Herein, we provide an overview of the reported evidence for the induction of alterations in the transcriptome of host cells via epigenetic dysregulation by HCV infection and describe recent reports linking the residual risk for HCC post-cure with a persistent HCV-induced epigenetic signature.

Letter to the editor

Genome-wide CRISPR screens have transformed our ability to systematically interrogate human gene function, but are currently limited to a subset of cellular phenotypes. We report a novel pooled screening approach for a wider range of cellular and subtle subcellular phenotypes.

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is frequently associated with severe aortic stenosis (AS). Significant MR is associated with less favorable prognosis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), including higher early and late mortality rate. The severity of MR is improved in about half of patients undergoing TAVI. However, the predictors of MR improvement after TAVI are unknown. We sought to investigate whether several demographic, clinical, echocardiographic and laboratory parameters and procedure characteristics are predictive of MR severity improvement after TAVI procedure.