Recent Publications
Sumit Mukherjee, Sunanda Biswas Mukherjee, Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern: Functional and regulatory impact of chimeric RNAs in human normal and cancer cells (Wiley Interdiscip Rev RNA .)
Fusions of two genes can lead to the generation of chimeric RNAs, which may have a distinct functional role from their original molecules. Chimeric RNAs could encode novel functional proteins or serve as novel long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). The appearance of chimeric RNAs in a cell could help to generate new functionality and phenotypic diversity that might facilitate this cell to survive against new environmental stress. Several recent studies have demonstrated the functional roles of various chimeric RNAs in cancer progression and are considered as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and sometimes even drug targets...
Abraham O Samson: Partogram of Grandmultiparous Parturients: A Multicenter Cohort Study (J Clin Med . )
Sparse and conflicting data exist regarding the normal partogram of grand-multiparous (GMP, defined as parity of 6+) parturients. Customized partograms may potentially lower cesarean delivery rates for protraction disorders in this population. In this study, we aim to construct a normal labor curve of GMP women and compare it to the multiparous (MP, defined as parity of 2-5) partogram.
Khalaf Kridin: Characteristics Associated With Refractory Course, Blindness, and Treatment Strategy-Related Outcomes in Patients With Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid (JAMA Dermatol . )
Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is a rare and heterogeneous subepithelial autoimmune bullous disease with predominant mucosal involvement. Characteristics associated with the disease course and complications are yet to be delineated. Objectives: To evaluate characteristics associated with refractory disease course and blindness among patients with MMP and to estimate the association of different treatment strategies with the prognostic outcome.
Nasser Sakran: Short-Term (30-Day) Morbidity of Biliopancreatic Diversion Compared to Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass as Revisional Procedures for Failed Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (Obes Surg . )
Silastic ring vertical gastroplasty (SRVG) and vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) are associated with a high failure rate due to weight regain and complications at long-term follow-up. Consequently, surgical correction for such procedures is warranted. Controversy exists as to which surgical procedure is the ideal choice for such correction. Our aim is to compare short-term outcome of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) repair for failed VBG/SRVG bariatric procedures.
Sunanda Biswas Mukherjee, Sumit Mukherjee, Rajesh Detroja, Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern: The landscape of differential splicing and transcript alternations in severe COVID-19 infection (FEBS J .)
Viral infections can modulate the widespread alternations of cellular splicing, favoring viral replication within the host cells by overcoming host immune responses. However, how SARS-CoV-2 induces host cell differential splicing and affects the landscape of transcript alternation in severe COVID-19 infection remains elusive. Understanding the differential splicing and transcript alternations in severe COVID-19 infection may improve our molecular insights into the SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. In this study, we analyzed the publicly available blood and lung transcriptome data of severe COVID-19 patients, blood transcriptome data of recovered COVID-19 patients at 12-, 16-, and 24-weeks post-infection, and healthy controls.
Khalaf Kridin, Ralf J Ludwig: Risk of infections in patients with pemphigus treated with rituximab versus azathioprine or mycophenolate mofetil: A large-scale global cohort study (Br J Dermatol . )
he risk of infectious complications among patients with pemphigus managed by rituximab is yet to be precisely elucidated. Objective: To evaluate the risk of infections in patients with pemphigus managed by rituximab versus first-line corticosteroid-sparing agents (azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil [MMF]).
Yishay Pinto, Sondra Turjeman, Adi Eshel, Meital Nuriel-Ohayon, Oren Ziv, Omry Koren: Gestational diabetes is driven by microbiota-induced inflammation months before diagnosis (Gut . )
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a condition in which women without diabetes are diagnosed with glucose intolerance during pregnancy, typically in the second or third trimester. Early diagnosis, along with a better understanding of its pathophysiology during the first trimester of pregnancy, may be effective in reducing incidence and associated short-term and long-term morbidities.
Associations between reported post-COVID-19 symptoms and subjective well-being, Israel, July 2021 - April 2022 (Epidemiol Infect . )
The impact of individual symptoms reported post-COVID-19 on subjective well-being (SWB) is unknown. We described associations between SWB and selected reported symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection.
(Yanay Gorelik, Amiel Dror, Hiba Zayyad, Ofir Wertheim, Kamal Abu Jabal, Saleh Nazzal, Paul Otiku, Jelte Elsinga, Daniel Glikman, Michael Edelstein)
Basem Hijazi, Ali Omari, Helal Said Ahmad, Narjes Azzam, Amir Mari: Ethnic Differences in Clinical Presentations and Esophageal High-Resolution Manometry Findings in Patients with Achalasia (Dysphagia .)
Ethnic differences in achalasia presentations have scarcely been described. The association between achalasia and immunologic HLA haplotypes suggests that there may be a genetic predisposition. We aimed to evaluate differences in demographic, clinical, endoscopic, and manometric findings between two distinct ethnic groups with achalasia-Israeli Arabs (IA) and Israeli Jews (IJ).
Alexander Lerner, David Rothem: Temporary bridging trans-hip external fixation in damage control orthopaedics treatment after severe combat trauma: A clinical case series (Injury . )
The role of external fixation in Damage Control Orthopaedics has been well described. Temporary external fixation has been recommended to provide relative bone stability while the soft tissue heals, prior to formal open reduction and internal fixation. Temporary bridging external fixation, that spans the joint, is recommended as primary skeletal stabilization in complex intra-articular and peri-articular fractures, in extensive peri-articular soft-tissue damage around the knee, ankle, elbow and wrist joints. Works devoted to temporary trans-hip external fixation in treatment of complex high-energy injuries are relatively rare. The purpose of this article is to present our experience in using temporary hip spanning external fixation during primary treatment of six patients suffered from complex open intra-articular and peri-articular fractures of the proximal femoral bone with extensive soft tissue damage due to war blast or high-velocity gunshot trauma.
Edo Y Birati: Early Cardiopulmonary Fitness after Heart Transplantation as a Determinant of Post-Transplant Survival (J Clin Med .)
Decreased peak oxygen consumption during exercise (peak Vo2) is a well-established prognostic marker for mortality in ambulatory heart failure. After heart transplantation, the utility of peak Vo2 as a marker of post-transplant survival is not well established.
Nasser Sakran, Sharon Soued, Kim Soifer: Long-Term Matched Comparison of Primary and Revisional Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (Obes Surg . )
Reports of long-term (> 5-15-year) outcomes assessing the safety and efficacy of primary revisional laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) are few.
Anthony Riches, Menahem Neuman, Jacob Bornstein: The Light-weight Mid-urethral Sling Implant for Female Stress Urinary Incontinence Treatment: A One-Year Postoperative Follow-up Study (Isr Med Assoc J .)
Serasis® (Serag-Wiessner KG, Naila, Germany) is a light-weight mid-urethral sling for treating stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Its insertion is considered less traumatic than other mid-urethral slings. Objectives: To define postoperative outcomes following Serasis implantation. To compare the efficacy and complication rates of the implant to those of other common techniques.
Omry Koren: Questioning the fetal microbiome illustrates pitfalls of low-biomass microbial studies (Nature .)
Whether the human fetus and the prenatal intrauterine environment (amniotic fluid and placenta) are stably colonized by microbial communities in a healthy pregnancy remains a subject of debate. Here we evaluate recent studies that characterized microbial populations in human fetuses from the perspectives of reproductive biology, microbial ecology, bioinformatics, immunology, clinical microbiology and gnotobiology, and assess possible mechanisms by which the fetus might interact with microorganisms.
Edo Y Birati: Effects of Body Mass Index on Presentation and Outcomes of COVID-19 among Heart Transplant and Left Ventricular Assist Device Patients: A Multi-Institutional Study (ASAIO J .)
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to pose a significant threat to patients receiving advanced heart failure therapies. The current study was undertaken to better understand the relationship between obesity and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or heart transplant.