Recent Publications
Shirin Hamed Azzam: Assessment of Lacrijet monocanalicular intubation for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (Eur J Ophthalmol . )
Assesses the success rate and complications of Lacrijet monocanalicular stent (FCI S.A.S, Paris, France) intubation in children treated for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (CNLDO).
Rachel Weitzman, Ortal Calfon-Peretz, Trishna Saha, Naamah Bloch, Karin Ben Zaken, Abraham O Samson: Resistance to Antimalarial Monotherapy Is Cyclic (J Clin Med . )
Malaria is a prevalent parasitic disease that is estimated to kill between one and two million people-mostly children-every year. Here, we query PubMed for malaria drug resistance and plot the yearly citations of 14 common antimalarials.
Baruh Polis, Vyacheslav Gurevich, Kolluru D Srikanth, Michael Assa, Abraham O Samson: Effects of Chronic Arginase Inhibition with Norvaline on Tau Pathology and Brain Glucose Metabolism in Alzheimer's Disease Mice (Neurochem Res .)
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an insidious neurodegenerative disorder representing a serious continuously escalating medico-social problem. The AD-associated progressive dementia is followed by gradual formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain.... Here, we use a transgenic AD mouse model, demonstrating age-dependent brain insulin signaling abnormalities, reduced brain insulin receptor levels, and substantial energy metabolism alterations, to evaluate the effects of arginase inhibition with Norvaline on glucose metabolism.
David Karasik: Functional Validation of Osteoporosis Genetic Findings Using Small Fish Models (Genes (Basel) . )
The advancement of human genomics has revolutionized our understanding of the genetic architecture of many skeletal diseases, including osteoporosis. However, interpreting results from human association studies remains a challenge, since index variants often reside in non-coding regions of the genome and do not possess an obvious regulatory function.... The goal of this review is to summarize the evidence supporting the utility of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) for accelerating our understanding of human skeletal genomics and outlining the remaining gaps in knowledge.
Tawfik Khoury, Wisam Sbeit: Fatty Pancreas and Pancreatic Cancer: An Overlooked Association? (J Clin Med .)
Fatty pancreas (FP) is an old observation, but a new disease with clinical implications and several associated comorbid conditions, ranging from mild to life-threatening diseases. Herein, we aimed to assess the association between FP and pancreatic cancer (PC) development.
Tawfik Khoury, Wisam Sbeit: Diabetes mellitus is associated with a higher rate of acute cholangitis among patients with common bile duct stones: A retrospective study (Medicine (Baltimore) .)
Common bile duct (CBD) stone is a commonly encountered disease that is associated with various clinical presentations ranging from the mild form of biliary colic to the severe complication of acute cholangitis. Recently, diabetes mellitus (DM) has been linked to the development of biliary diseases; however, no data regarding the association of DM with acute cholangitis development in the setting of CBD stone exist. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether DM represents a risk factor for acute cholangitis in patients with CBD stone.
Daniel Glikman: Misleading Positive Serology for Cat Scratch Disease following Administration of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (Pathogens . )
Cat scratch disease (CSD), caused by Bartonella henselae, usually presents as regional lymphadenopathy/lymphadenitis, known as typical CSD or as atypical CSD, which includes, among others, neurological manifestations. Serology for anti-B. henselae IgG antibodies is the most commonly used diagnostic tests for CSD. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is given for an increasing number of medical conditions and may cause interference with serological testing. We report six patients with neurological manifestations and two patients with Kawasaki disease mimicking typical CSD, mistakenly diagnosed as CSD due to false-positive serology following IVIG therapy.
Gassan Moady, Shaul Atar: Stress-Induced Cardiomyopathy-Considerations for Diagnosis and Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Medicina (Kaunas) .)
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with several cardiovascular manifestations including myocardial injury, myocarditis, arrhythmia, and pulmonary embolism. Rare cases of stress-induced cardiomyopathy, or takotsubo syndrome have also been reported during the acute infection, and secondary to stress following lockdown and self-isolation...Here, we review the special considerations in the diagnosis and management of takotsubo syndrome during the current pandemic.
Liron Jerbi, Maya Azrad, Avi Peretz: Evaluation of Factors that Affect the Performance of COVID-19 Molecular Assays Including Presence of Symptoms, Number of Detected Genes and RNA Extraction Type (Mol Diagn Ther . )
Rapid and accurate detection of COVID-19 is crucial for mitigation of the pandemic. We evaluated the performance of six molecular kits and the effect of several factors on the performance of the kits.
Maya Frank Wolf, Inshirah Sgayer, Liat Yaron, Oleg Shnaider, Marwan Odeh, Jacob Bornstein, Michal Carmiel: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy - prevalence and ethnic distribution in northern Israel (Ginekol Pol . )
Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is characterized by pruritis and elevated serum bile acids (BA) and is associated with adverse obstetrical outcomes. ICP etiology is poorly understood and its incidence varies with ethnicity and geographical distribution. This study explores the prevalence and characteristics of ICP in the different Northern Israeli ethnic groups and compare maternal and perinatal outcomes according to disease severity.
Wisam Sbeit, Tawfik Khoury: Endoscopic ultrasound role in pancreatic adenocarcinoma treatment: A review focusing on technical success, safety and efficacy (World J Gastroenterol .)
The impressive technological advances in recent years have rapidly translated into the shift of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) from diagnostic modality into an interventional and therapeutic tool. Despite the great advance in its diagnosis, the majority of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cases are inoperable when diagnosed, thus demanding alternative optional therapies. EUS has emerged as an easy, minimally invasive modality targeting this carcinoma with different interventions that have been reported recently. In this review we summarize the evolving role of interventional therapeutic EUS in pancreatic adenocarcinoma management.
Carmel Even, Sondra Turjeman, Omry Koren: Quinoa Soluble Fiber and Quercetin Alter the Composition of the Gut Microbiome and Improve Brush Border Membrane Morphology In Vivo ( Gallus gallus) (Nutrients . )
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), a gluten-free pseudo-cereal, has gained popularity over the last decade due to its high nutritional value. Quinoa is a rich source of proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, tocopherols (Vitamin E), unsaturated fatty acids and a wide range of polyphenols. The study used Gallus gallus intra-amniotic feeding, a clinically validated method, to assess the effects of quinoa soluble fiber (QSF) and quercetin 3-glucoside (Q3G) versus control.
Offer Amir: Anti-Remodeling Cardiac Therapy in Patients With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Meta-Analysis Study (Front Pharmacol . )
Almost all Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients that reach their 30s present cardiomyopathy. As a result, this population remains under-treated. There is no sufficient proof of the efficacy of anti-remodeling cardiac therapy for DMD cardiomyopathy (DMDCM). We aim to assess the efficacy of anti-remodeling cardiac therapy for DMDCM by using meta-analysis.
Denis Drobot, Eli Kakiashvilli, Amitai Bickel: Continuous Monitoring of Mental Load During Virtual Simulator Training for Laparoscopic Surgery Reflects Laparoscopic Dexterity: A Comparative Study Using a Novel Wireless Device (Front Neurosci .)
Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) relates to the efficiency with which individuals manipulate the limited capacity of working memory load. Repeated training generally results in individual performance increase and cognitive load decrease, as measured by both behavioral and neuroimaging methods. One of the known biomarkers for cognitive load is frontal theta band, measured by an EEG. Simulation-based training is an effective tool for acquiring practical skills, specifically to train new surgeons in a controlled and hazard-free environment. Measuring the cognitive load of young surgeons undergoing such training can help to determine whether they are ready to take part in a real surgery. In this study, we measured the performance of medical students and interns in a surgery simulator, while their brain activity was monitored by a single-channel EEG.
Maria Elias, Itay Onn: Disrupting the MAD2L2-Rev1 Complex Enhances Cell Death upon DNA Damage (Molecules . )
DNA-damaging chemotherapy agents such as cisplatin have been the first line of treatment for cancer for decades. While chemotherapy can be very effective, its long-term success is often reduced by intrinsic and acquired drug resistance, accompanied by chemotherapy-resistant secondary malignancies....