Recent Publications
Haneen Jabaly-Habib, Moshe Dessau: A novel de novo heterozygous pathogenic variant in the SDHA gene results in childhood onset bilateral optic atrophy and cognitive impairment (Metab Brain Dis .)
Isolated defects in the mitochondrial respiratory chain complex II (CII; succinate-ubiquinone oxidoreductase) are extremely rare and mainly result from bi-allelic mutations in one of the nuclear encoded subunits: SDHA, SDHB and SDHD, which comprise CII and the assembly CII factor SDHAF1. We report an adolescent female who presented with global developmental delay, intellectual disability and childhood onset progressive bilateral optic atrophy.
Itay Ben-Zion: The impact of late-treated pediatric cataract on intraocular pressure (Int Ophthalmol)
Assesses the intraocular pressure and visual acuity before and after pediatric congenital cataract surgery performed at a relatively older age.
Wisam Sbeit, Tawfik Khoury: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and the risk of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis: the hidden danger (Scand J Gastroenterol . )
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been identified as risk factor for several diseases; however, its association with post endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis (PEP) has not been studied.
Wisam Sbeit, Tomer Greener, Anas Kadah, Amir Mari, Eran Goldin, Mahmud Mahamid, Tawfik Khoury: Pancreatic and hepatobiliary manifestations of nonalcoholic fatty pancreatic disease: a referral multi-center experience (Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol .)
Nonalcoholic fatty pancreatic disease (NAFPD) is an increasingly recognized disease with accumulating evidence of associated co-morbidities. However, data linked with other pancreatic and hepatobiliary disorders are still being studied. Investigates the association of pancreato-hepato-biliary disorders with NAFPD.
Amir Asher Kuperman: Minor Clinical Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients With Primary Immunodeficiency in Israel (Front Immunol .)
In the last few months the world has witnessed a global pandemic due to severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Obviously, this pandemic affected individuals differently, with a significant impact on populations considered to be at high-risk. One such population, was assumed to be patients with primary genetic defect involving components or pathways of the immune system. While human immunity against COVID-19 is not fully understood, it is, so far, well documented, that both adaptive and innate cells have a critical role in protection against SARS-CoV-2. Here, we aimed to summarize the clinical and laboratory data on primary immunodeficiency (PID) patients in Israel, who were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, in order to estimate the impact of COVID-19 on such patients.
Daniel Oren, Amiel A Dror, Adeeb Zoabi, Adi Kasem, Lior Tzadok, Fares Kablan, Enssaf Safory, Eyal Sela, Samer Srouji: The impact of delayed surgical intervention following high velocity maxillofacial injuries (Sci Rep .)
Our study compares the number of postoperative complications of Syrian patients admitted to the Galilee Medical Center (GMC) over a 5-year period (May 2013-May 2018) for treatment after initial high-velocity maxillofacial injuries sustained during the Syrian civil war. Specifically, we evaluated complication rates of patients arriving "early," within 24 h, to the GMC versus those who arrived "late," or 14-28 days following high-velocity maxillofacial injuries.
Joel Alter, Michal Werbner, Meital Gal-Tanamy, Moshe Dessau: Pseudoviruses for the assessment of coronavirus disinfection by ozone (Environ Chem Lett . )
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted public health worldwide. Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via aerosols and surfaces has highlighted the need for efficient indoor disinfection methods. For instance, the use of ozone gas as a safe and potent disinfectant against SARS-CoV-2 virus is of particular interest. Here we tested the use of pseudoviruses as a model for evaluating ozone disinfection of the coronavirus at ozone concentrations of 30, 100, and 1000 ppmv.
Delayed diagnosis and subsequently increased severity of acute appendicitis (compatible with clinical-pathologic grounds) during the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational case-control study (BMC Gastroenterol .)
During a global crisis like the current COVID-19 pandemic, delayed admission to hospital in cases of emergent medical illness may lead to serious adverse consequences. We aimed to determine whether such delayed admission affected the severity of an inflammatory process regarding acute appendicitis, and its convalescence. (Amitai Bickel, Samer Ganam, Ibrahim Abu Shakra, Inbal Farkash, Rola Francis, Fahed Merei, Isaac Cohen, Eli Kakiashvili)
Amir Bashkin, Manar Ghanim, Reem Miari, Samer Srouji, Mizied Falah: Forty-One Plant Extracts Screened for Dual Antidiabetic and Antioxidant Functions: Evaluating the Types of Correlation between -Amylase Inhibition and Free Radical Scavenging (Molecules.)
Dysregulation of glucose homeostasis followed by chronic hyperglycemia is a hallmark of diabetes mellitus (DM), a disease spreading as a worldwide pandemic for which there is no satisfactory dietary treatment or cure. The development of glucose-controlling drugs that can prevent complications of DM, such as hyperglycemia and oxidative stress, which contribute to the impairment of the key physiological processes in the body, is of grave importance. In pursuit of this goal, this study screened 41 plant extracts for their antidiabetic and antioxidant activities by employing assays to test for α-amylase inhibition and free radical scavenging activity (FRSA) and by measuring glucose uptake in L6-GLUT4myc cells.
Avi Matityahu, Itay Onn: Hit the brakes - a new perspective on the loop extrusion mechanism of cohesin and other SMC complexes (J Cell Sci .)
The three-dimensional structure of chromatin is determined by the action of protein complexes of the structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) family. Eukaryotic cells contain three SMC complexes, cohesin, condensin, and a complex of Smc5 and Smc6. Initially, cohesin was linked to sister chromatid cohesion, the process that ensures the fidelity of chromosome segregation in mitosis. In recent years, a second function in the organization of interphase chromatin into topologically associated domains has been determined, and loop extrusion has emerged as the leading mechanism of this process. Interestingly, fundamental mechanistic differences exist between mitotic tethering and loop extrusion. As distinct molecular switches that aim to suppress loop extrusion in different biological contexts have been identified, we hypothesize here that loop extrusion is the default biochemical activity of cohesin and that its suppression shifts cohesin into a tethering mode.
Avi Matityahu, Itay Onn: Hit the brakes - a new perspective on the loop extrusion mechanism of cohesin and other SMC complexes (J Cell Sci .)
The three-dimensional structure of chromatin is determined by the action of protein complexes of the structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) family. Eukaryotic cells contain three SMC complexes, cohesin, condensin, and a complex of Smc5 and Smc6....With this model, we aim to provide an explanation for how loop extrusion and tethering can coexist in a single cohesin complex and also apply it to the other eukaryotic SMC complexes, describing both similarities and differences between them. Finally, we present model-derived molecular predictions that can be tested experimentally, thus offering a new perspective on the mechanisms by which SMC complexes shape the higher-order structure of chromatin.
G Fonar, B Polis, D S Sams, A Levi, A Malka, E Elliot, A O Samson: Modified Snake α-Neurotoxin Averts β-Amyloid Binding to α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor and Reverses Cognitive Deficits in Alzheimer's Disease Mice (Mol Neurobiol .)
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of senile dementia and one of the greatest medical, social, and economic challenges....we designed a chemically modified α-cobratoxin (mToxin) to inhibit the interaction between Aβ and α7AChR. Subsequently, we examined mToxin in a set of original in silico, in vitro, ex vivo experiments, and in a murine AD model.... (Gennadiy Fonar, Baruh Polis, Dev Sharan Sams, Almog Levi, Assaf Malka, Evan Elliot, Abraham O Samson)
T Zoabi, O Ronen: A novel technique for protecting staff during microlaryngoscopy procedures (J Laryngol Otol .)
Microlaryngoscopy is an aerosol-generating procedure. This paper presents a novel approach for better protecting staff during microlaryngoscopy.
Inbar Ben Shachar, Naama Marcus: Anatomical and functional outcomes of uterus preservation and pelvic organ prolapse repair with vaginal trocar-less mesh kit (Endofast): A retrospective study of 239 patients (Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol .)
The aim of the study was to assess safety and long term efficacy as well as short and long term complications of vaginal prolapse mesh repair using single incision trocar-less system while preserving the uterus.
Aatef Khattib, Elena Bukovetzky, Orna Dally Gottfried: Is the probable spillage of the lung surfactant dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine the ultimate source of diabetes type 1? (Respir Physiol Neurobiol .)
The lung surfactant dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) most probably leaks into the blood, settling on the luminal aspect of blood vessels to create active hydrophobic spots (AHS). Nanobubbles are formed at these spots from dissolved gas. We hypothesized that when a large molecule in the blood comes into contact with a nanobubble at the AHS, its tertiary structure is disrupted. An epitope not previously having undergone thymus education may then prompt an autoimmune response.