Recent Publications
Wisam Sbeit, Tawfik Khoury: Fatty Pancreas Represents a Risk Factor for Acute Pancreatitis: A Pilot Study (Pancreas . )
Fatty pancreas (FP), previously believed to be without clinical significance, recently has been shown to be associated with comorbid diseases. We aimed to explore whether FP predispose to acute pancreatitis.
Elon Glassberg: Sub-cutaneous Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine administration results in seroconversion among young adults (Vaccine. )
Route of vaccine administration plays a role in extent and quality of immunogenicity. 790 military personnel accidentally received the first of two doses of Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA anti Covid-19 vaccine using a needle intended for subcutaneous administration. A serological blood test (on day 21, prior to the second intramuscular dose) was performed, analyzing whether immunological response was elicited. 98.2% demonstrated seroconversion. IgG titers were negatively correlated with age and did not correlate with BMI. Our results could help reassure providers confronted with a similar mistake and may even imply a possibly new and effective administration route.
Tamar Leshem, Shani Gilron, Maya Azrad, Avi Peretz: Characterization of reduced susceptibility to chlorhexidine among Gram-negative bacteria (Microbes Infect . )
Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) is one of the most commonly used antiseptic, acting against Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, yeast and fungi. However, over use may lead to reduced susceptibility of different bacteria to CHG. This study aimed to characterize the CHG susceptibility among Gram-negative strains in Israel, to evaluate factors that may affect this susceptibility, and to compare CHG susceptibility between ESBLs bacteria to strains without these enzymes.
Elon Glassberg, Avi Benov: Low-Titer Group O Whole-Blood Resuscitation in the Prehospital Setting in Israel: Review of the First 2.5 Years' Experience (Transfus Med Hemother .)
The Israeli Defense Forces Medical Corps (IDF-MC) implemented the use of low-titer group O whole blood (LTOWB) as the first-choice resuscitation fluid in the IDF airborne Combat Search and Rescue Unit (IDF-CSAR) for aerial evacuation of both military and civilian casualties in June 2018 for injured patients with hemorrhagic shock and at least one of the following: systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg, heart rate >130 beats/min, deterioration of consciousness without head injury or hemoglobin concentration ≤7 g/dL.
Michael Edelstein: Migration and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease in Europe: a systematic review Lancet Infect Dis .)
Migrant populations are one of several underimmunised groups in the EU or European Economic Area (EU/EEA), yet little is known about their involvement in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This information is vital to develop targeted strategies to improve the health of diverse migrant communities. We did a systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42019157473; Jan 1, 2000, to May 22, 2020) adhering to PRISMA guidelines, to identify studies on vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks (measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, hepatitis A, varicella, Neisseria meningitidis, and Haemophilus influenzae) involving migrants residing in the EU/EEA and Switzerland.
Ayelet Barr, Sophia Eilat-Tsanani: Prescribing Analgesics for Low Back Pain: Is There a Gender Difference (J Womens Health (Larchmt) .)
Gender differences have been described in many fields of pain. However, research is inconclusive as to gender difference in pain management. Our study aimed to investigate gender differences in prescribing analgesics for low back pain.
Offer Amir: Myocarditis after BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine against Covid-19 in Israel (N Engl J Med . )
Approximately 5.1 million Israelis had been fully immunized against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) after receiving two doses of the BNT162b2 messenger RNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) by May 31, 2021. After early reports of myocarditis during adverse events monitoring, the Israeli Ministry of Health initiated active surveillance.
Sunanda Biswas Mukherjee, Alessandaro Gorohovski, Eliad Levy, Sumit Mukherjee, Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern: Seasonal UV exposure and vitamin D: Association with the dynamics of COVID-19 transmission in Europe (FEBS Open Bio .)
Several recent studies have demonstrated that low plasma 25(OH) vitamin D levels are associated with the risk of COVID-19 infection. The primary source of vitamin D production in humans is environmental UV radiation. In many viral respiratory diseases, peak infection rates are observed during winter due to reduced UV exposure and low temperatures. In Europe, the second wave of COVID-19 began early in the winter of 2020. Investigating the impact of seasonal temperature and UV exposure on COVID-19 transmission could thus aid in prevention and intervention.
Maamoun Basheer, Elias Saad, Rechnitzer Hagai, Nimer Assy: Clinical Predictors of Mortality and Critical Illness in Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia (Metabolites . )
Early identification of patients with COVID-19 who will develop severe or critical disease symptoms is important for delivering proper and early treatment. We analyzed demographic, clinical, immunological, hematological, biochemical and radiographic findings that may be of utility to clinicians in predicting COVID-19 severity and mortality.
Andrei Braester, Sahar Khouri, Bennidor Raviv, Masad Barhoum: Is There a Predictive Value of High Mean Platelet Volume in Early Diagnosis of Venous Thromboembolism? (Isr Med Assoc J)
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious disease, which demands a fast accurate diagnosis to begin suitable treatment. It presents a major problem in the emergency department (ED), and its confirmation requires adequate evaluation. We evaluate a potential role of mean platelet volume (MPV) in differentiating VTE from other potential diagnosis in patients with suspected VTE.
R Khamisy-Farah: Higher rates of COVID-19 but less severe infections reported for patients on Dupilumab: a Big Data analysis of the World Health Organization VigiBase (Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci . )
Dupilumab (Dupixent®) is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits IL-4 and IL-13 signaling used for the treatment of allergic diseases. Whilst biologic therapy is traditionally regarded as immunosuppressive and capable to increase the infectious risk, Dupilumab does not display these characteristics and may be even protective in certain cases. We investigated the link between Dupilumab therapy and SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Samuel Tobias, Shady Jahshan, Yuval Grober, Jean F Soustiel: Skull base hemangiopericytomas (Acta Neurol Belg .)
Retrospectively evaluates the clinical outcome of six patients with skull base hemangiopericytomas (HPCs) and that of a cohort of 37 similar patients identified by a systematic review of the literature.
Moshe Dessau: Structural basis for UFM1 transfer from UBA5 to UFC1 (Nat Commun . )
Ufmylation is a post-translational modification essential for regulating key cellular processes. A three-enzyme cascade involving E1, E2 and E3 is required for UFM1 attachment to target proteins. How UBA5 (E1) and UFC1 (E2) cooperatively activate and transfer UFM1 is still unclear. Here, we present the crystal structure of UFC1 bound to the C-terminus of UBA5, revealing how UBA5 interacts with UFC1 via a short linear sequence, not observed in other E1-E2 complexes.
Danna Krupik: Caregiver Willingness to Vaccinate Their Children against COVID-19 after Adult Vaccine Approval (Int J Environ Res Public Health. )
Vaccines against COVID-19 are likely to be approved for children under 12 years in the near future. Understanding vaccine hesitancy in parents is essential for reaching herd immunity. A cross-sectional survey of caregivers in 12 emergency departments (ED) was undertaken in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. We compared reported willingness to vaccinate children against COVID-19 with an initial survey and post-adult COVID-19 vaccine approval.
The Association of Bullous Pemphigoid With Atopic Dermatitis and Allergic Rhinitis-A Population-Based Study (Dermatitis .)
Although bullous pemphigoid (BP), atopic dermatitis (AD), and allergic rhinitis (AR) are associated with shared pathogenic mechanisms the epidemiological relationship between these conditions remains to be investigated. (Khalaf Kridin, Christoph M Hammers, Ralf J Ludwig, Erez Onn, Yochai Schonmann, Abed Abu-Elhija, Dana Tzur Bitan, Enno Schmidt, Orly Weinstein, Arnon D Cohen)