Recent Publications
Tal Marshak, Jamal Qarawany, Boaz Markel, Amiel Sberro, Eli Layous, Netanel Eisenbach, Eyal Sela, Ohad Ronen: Incidental Laryngeal Findings in Routine Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Diagnosis (Isr Med Assoc J .)
Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) refers to the backflow of acidic stomach content into the larynx, pharynx, and upper aerodigestive tract. The diagnosis of LPR is based on the patient's history and findings of the laryngoscopy associated with LPR. Other possible manifestations consistent with LPR symptoms include laryngeal cancer, vocal fold granulomas, Reinke's space edema, and vocal polyps. In this study, we compared the characteristics of patients with LPR symptoms and incidental laryngeal findings (ILF) in the laryngoscopic evaluation to those without ILF (WILF).
Karina Naskovica, Inna Amdur Zilberfarb, Lior Lowenstein, Maya Frank Wolf: Relations between maternal height, shoe size, and the success of vaginal delivery in birth weight over 4000 g (Taiwan J Obstet Gynecol .)
Macrosomia is associated with increased risk of fetal and maternal complications such as trauma during birth, cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, and shoulder dystocia. Sonographic estimation of fetal weight is imprecise particularly in excessively large fetuses, prompting the need for additional measures to assess the feasibility of vaginal delivery of a macrosomic newborn and thus improve prenatal consultation.
Naim Shehadeh: Dapagliflozin or Saxagliptin in Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes (NEJM Evid .)
Dapagliflozin or Saxagliptin in Pediatric Type 2 DiabetesDapagliflozin (a sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor) and saxagliptin (a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor) have both been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults but not in children. In this randomized trial of 245 pediatric patients (10 to 17 years of age) with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, dapagliflozin but not saxagliptin significantly reduced A1C compared with placebo.
Maamoun Basheer, Hamd Waked, Helana Jeries, Olga Azrilin, Dan Paz, Nimer Assy, Mohammad E Naffaa, Samih Badarny: Neurosarcoidosis: The Presentation, Diagnosis and Treatment Review of Two Cases (Life (Basel) . )
Sarcoidosis is a chronic granulomatous disease of unknown cause characterized by the presence of non-caseating granulomas. The disease can affect any organ including the nervous system. Neurosarcoidosis occurs in about 5% patients with sarcoidosis. The clinical presentation of neurosarcoidosis is varied, and it can involve the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system, separately or in different combinations. The diagnosis of neurosarcoidosis is challenging, as biopsies from the nervous system are not readily available. Anti-TNFα agents are becoming one of the cornerstone treatments for neurosarcoidosis. In this case-based review, we discuss two cases of neurosarcoidosis with different clinical presentations.
Celia Suriu: The Involvement of LAG-3positive Plasma Cells in the Development of Multiple Myeloma (Int J Mol Sci . )
The Lymphocyte-Activation Protein 3 (LAG-3) inhibitory receptor is expressed on regulatory plasma cells (PCs). Micro-environmental cells that express LAG-3 were found to be increased during the progression of smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM). To assess the possible role of LAG-3 expression on regulatory PCs in patients with plasma cell dyscrasia.
Younes Bathish, Neta Tuvia, Elizabeth Eshel, Tali Tal Lange, Michael Edelstein, Kamal Abu-Jabal: B and T cell responses to the 3rd and 4th dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine in dialysis patients (Hum Vaccin Immunother)
Patients on dialysis (PoD) are at high risk of severe morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. Characterizing long-term vaccine immune responses in these patients will help optimize vaccine schedule for PoD. This study aimed to determine whether long-term humoral and B and T cell-responses post 3rd and 4th dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine differed between PoD and controls.
Naaem Simaan, Tamer Jubeh, Karine Wiegler Beiruti: Diagnostic Yield of High-Resolution Vessel Wall Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Evaluation of Young Stroke Patients (J Clin Med . )
The mechanism responsible for stroke in patients younger than 50 often remains unknown. This study was designed to assess whether high-resolution intracranial vessel wall MR imaging (icVWI) may be instrumental in determining stroke cause.
Michele Buchinger, Rola Elias Farah: Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines among Obstetrician-Gynaecologists (Ann Agric Environ Med .)
The article assesses the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Obstetrician-Gynaecologists (OB/GYNs) in Israel regarding COVID-19, its impact on fertility, pregnancy and childbirth, and their positions on COVID-19 vaccines.
Raymond Farah, Rola Khamisy-Farah: The role of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in predicting poor outcomes in COVID-19 patients (Cardiol J . )
This study examines how the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) predicts coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalization, severity, length, and mortality in adult patients.
Michele Buchinger: Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines among Obstetrician-Gynaecologists (Ann Agric Environ Med .)
The article assesses the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Obstetrician-Gynaecologists (OB/GYNs) in Israel regarding COVID-19, its impact on fertility, pregnancy and childbirth, and their positions on COVID-19 vaccines.
A Novel Score-Based Approach by Using Routine Laboratory Tests for Accurate Diagnosis of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis (SBP) in Cirrhotic Patients (EJIFCC . )
Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis (SBP) poses a significant risk to cirrhosis patients with ascites, emphasizing the critical need for early detection and intervention. This retrospective observational study spanning a decade aimed to devise predictive models for SBP using routine laboratory tests. Additionally, it aimed to propose a novel scoring system to aid SBP diagnosis.
(George Abdo, Rasha Rawajdey, Wadie Abu Dahoud, Jammal Massalha, Taleb Hajouj, Mohammad H Assadi, Nseir William)
Mulate Zerihun, Nir Qvit: Selective inhibitors targeting Fis1/Mid51 protein-protein interactions protect against hypoxia-induced damage in cardiomyocytes (Front Pharmacol . )
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the most common non-communicable diseases globally. An estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2019, representing 32% of all global deaths. Mitochondria play critical roles in cellular metabolic homeostasis, cell survival, and cell death, as well as producing most of the cell's energy. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) have a significant role in physiological and pathological processes, and aberrant PPIs are associated with various diseases, therefore they are potential drug targets for a broad range of therapeutic areas. Due to their ability to mimic natural interaction motifs and cover relatively larger interaction region, peptides are very promising as PPI inhibitors. To expedite drug discovery, computational approaches are widely used for screening potential lead compounds. Here, we developed peptides that inhibit mitochondrial fission 1 (Fis1)/mitochondrial dynamics 51 kDa (Mid51) PPI to reduce the cellular damage that can lead to various human pathologies, such as CVDs.
Aysar Nashef: Towards system genetics analysis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma using the mouse model, cellular platform, and clinical human data (Animal Model Exp Med .)
Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is a leading global malignancy. Every year, More than 830 000 people are diagnosed with HNSCC globally, with more than 430 000 fatalities. HNSCC is a deadly diverse malignancy with many tumor locations and biological characteristics....In this report, we explore and discuss potential research prospects utilizing the Collaborative Cross mouse model and crossing it to mice carrying single or double knockout genes (e.g. Smad4 and P53 genes) to identify genetic factors affecting the development of this complex disease using genome-wide association studies, epigenetics, microRNA, long noncoding RNA, lncRNA, histone modifications, methylation, phosphorylation, and proteomics.
Orna Schwartz, Hanan Rohana, Maya Azrad, Avi Peretz: Characterization of community-acquired Clostridioides difficile strains in Israel, 2020-2022 (Front Microbiol . )
The prevalence of community-acquired Clostridioides difficile infection (CA-CDI) has been rising, due to changes in antibiotics prescribing practices, emergence of hypervirulent strains and improved diagnostics. This study explored CA-CDI epidemiology by examining strain diversity and virulence factors of CA-CDI isolates collected across several geographical regions in Israel.