Recent Publications

This research compares the performance and diagnostic accuracy of three molecular tests for the detection of Clostridium difficile in stool samples, with the Xpert® C. difficile assay.

Azrieli Faculty of Medicine MD-PhD student with Dr. Hava Gil-Henn and Dr. Abraham O. Samson. In Oncogene (2019) doi:10.1038/s41388-019-1110-1

We aimed to explore a simple noninvasive parameter that would predict survival following PEG insertion. (Wisam Sbeit, Anas Kadah, Amir Mari, Mahmud Mahamid, and Tawfik Khoury )

Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series.

"We propose a general approach for comparing protein structures with origami models....our analysis suggests that there are similar patterns between protein structures and origami models and that this approach may provide an important insight on the role that the structure of a protein fulfils, and on preferred structural design of novel proteins with unique characteristics."

Research with affiliate hospitals (Nazareth Hospital EMMS, Galilee Medical Center).

...the discovery of novel anticancer drugs is urgently required. Nature is considered an important source of the discovery of anticancer treatments, and many of the cytotoxic medicines in clinics today are derived from plants and other natural sources.... The current study reports on the screening of extracts from 57 plants that are used in the galilee district as a food and/or for traditional medicine. Investigating the free radical scavenging capacity and these plants, and their cytotoxicity, may prove helpful to high‑throughput screening projects that use antioxidants and cytotoxic natural products. The current study assessed the correlation between free radical scavenging and cytotoxicity.

The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and in-hospital outcomes of transcutaneous lead extraction (TLE) associated with device-related infection (DRI) in the United States from 2003 to 2015.

Study course in orthopedics for RSU students was conducted by one of the most prominent traumatologists and orthopedists in treating complicated injuries to the limbs – Professor Alexander Lerner, MD, PhD, Professor at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of the Bar-Ilan University, Head of the Orthopedics Department at Ziv Medical Center. See here.

Adherence to statins may be associated with reduced mortality and cardiovascular morbidity among older adults. See here.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neuronal growth factor that plays an essential role in the maintenance of the nervous system. We have evaluated the peripheral blood protein levels of BDNF and the valine-to-methionine substitution at codon 66 (Val66Met) single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) as potential biomarkers for the early recognition of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma patients.

Vincristine is a chemotherapeutic agent that is associated with chemotherapy‐induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) (Legha, 1986), although the reason why some patients are more vulnerable to CIPN than others remains unclear. Our preliminary studies, showing a possible link between CIPN and blood levels of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (Azoulay et al, 2014), point to BDNF as a potential biomarker for CIPN. The current study explored the effects of serum BDNF and the BDNF‐Val66Met, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) causing deficit in cellular distribution and secretion of BDNF in the neuronal cells (Egan et al, 2003) of patients with non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who develop CIPN.