חדשות המחקר
Shams Twafra, Tal Sneh, Kolluru D Srikanth, Tomer Meirson, Alessandro Genna, Hava Gil-Henn: A novel Pyk2-derived peptide inhibits invadopodia-mediated breast cancer metastasis (Oncogene .)
Dissemination of cancer cells from the primary tumor into distant body tissues and organs is the leading cause of death in cancer patients. While most clinical strategies aim to reduce or impede the growth of the primary tumor, no treatment to eradicate metastatic cancer exists at present. Metastasis is mediated by feet-like cytoskeletal structures called invadopodia which allow cells to penetrate through the basement membrane and intravasate into blood vessels during their spread to distant tissues and organs. The non-receptor tyrosine kinase Pyk2 is highly expressed in breast cancer, where it mediates invadopodia formation and function via interaction with the actin-nucleation-promoting factor cortactin. Here, we designed a cell-permeable peptide inhibitor that contains the second proline-rich region (PRR2) sequence of Pyk2, which binds to the SH3 domain of cortactin and inhibits the interaction between Pyk2 and cortactin in invadopodia.
Erratum here https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36494432/
Avi Benov: Blast Injury Patterns Among Israel Defense Forces Fatalities (Mil Med . )
The incidence of blast injuries on the battlefield has risen over the last several decades. In order to improve prevention and treatment, it is essential to understand the severity and bodily distribution of these injuries. This study aims to characterize blast injury patterns among IDF fatalities.
Limor Meoded Danon: Opportunities and challenges with the German act for the protection of children with variations of sex development (Int J Impot Res . )
In May 2021, the German parliament passed a long-debated law to protect children with variations of sex development/sex characteristics from medically unnecessary surgeries until they are old enough to decide for themselves. This law joins similar laws passed in other countries in recent years and recognizes the rights of people with variations of sex development to self-determination and bodily autonomy. In this article, we discuss the notion of bodily autonomy and examine details of the German legislation in the context of psychosocial care. We focus on the following questions: (1) How may the law help to preserve the genital integrity and future bodily autonomy of newborns with variations of sex development (VSD)? (2) What are the opportunities and challenges of this law? (3) What strategies are needed to implement the law in ways that include medical professionals' knowledge and skills, parental cooperation, and protection for the genital integrity as well as the future genital autonomy of newborns with VSD?
Chovav Handler: High rates of recurrence of gallstone associated episodes following acute cholecystitis during long term follow-up: a retrospective comparative study of patients who did not receive surgery (Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg . )
Patients who are admitted with acute cholecystitis (AC) and do not undergo urgent cholecystectomy, are usually referred for interval cholecystectomy. Many do not have surgery for various reasons, and some of those do not suffer from any recurrent symptoms. The primary objective of this study was to assess the rate and nature of recurrent gallstone-related events in this population over a long period, and its association with demographic and clinical parameters. A secondary objective was to assess the reasons for not undergoing surgery.
David Karasik: Both indirect maternal and direct fetal genetic effects reflect the observational relationship between higher birth weight and lower adult bone mass (BMC Med .)
Birth weight is considered not only to undermine future growth, but also to induce lifelong diseases; the aim of this study is to explore the relationship between birth weight and adult bone mass.
Ory Wiesel: Thoracic surgery in Israel (J Thorac Dis . )
During the past 74 years since its establishment, Israel has evolved into a modernized country with well-established and effective public health care system. Thoracic surgeons in Israel play a central role in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with diseases of the chest wall, diaphragm, mediastinum, airways, Lung, and esophagus as well are taking part in designated trauma teams....
Ory Wiesel: Perspective and practice patterns of mediastinal staging among thoracic surgeons (J Thorac Dis . )
Accurate mediastinal staging of lung cancer patients is critical for determining appropriate treatment. Mediastinoscopy and endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration are the most commonly utilized techniques. Limited data exist on training and practice trends among thoracic surgeons. We aimed to determine training and practice patterns and find whether there is a paradigm shift in mediastinal staging after the introduction of EBUS into practice among thoracic surgeons in the United States.
Khalaf Kridin: Atypical clinical manifestation and protracted latency are observed in the emerging variant of checkpoint inhibitor-associated bullous pemphigoid (Br J Dermatol . )
The last two decades have witnessed a substantial increase in the incidence of bullous pemphigoid (BP) worldwide. One of the most compelling interpretations accounting for this epidemiological observation is the growing exposure to novel drug classes that might be implicated in eliciting the disease. Multiple lines of evidence have recently accumulated to suggest that exposure to dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors and checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) is associated with an elevated risk of BP. As these drugs were introduced only in the past two decades, their rising utilization underlies, at least in part, the growing incidence of BP.
Doron Sagi, Mary Catharine Joy Rudolf, Sivan Spitzer: A social ecological approach to promote learning health disparities in the clinical years: impact of a home-visiting educational program for medical students (BMC Med Educ . )
There is consensus that medical schools have a duty to educate students about social determinants of health (SDOH) and equip them with skills required to ameliorate health disparities. Although the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) urged the development of experiential long term programs, teaching is usually conducted in the pre-clinical years or as voluntary courses. ETGAR a required health disparities course, based on the social ecological model, was initiated to answer the NAM call. This study aimed to ascertain the course impact on students learning of SDOH and health disparities.
Noa Martonovich, Maher Khatib, Michael Assaf: Hair tourniquet syndrome: A retrospective study (Pediatr Dermatol .)
Hair thread tourniquet syndrome (HTS) is a pediatric condition in which human hair or synthetic fiber encircles and strangulates a body appendage causing tissue necrosis. Few epidemiologic studies have been done. Our objective was to better define the demographics, clinical features, and predisposing factors for this condition.
Naaem Simaan, Fadi Shbat: Characteristics of patients with cerebral sinus venous thrombosis and JAK2 V617F mutation (Acta Neurol Belg . )
Janus kinase 2 (JAK2-V617F) mutations can cause thrombocytosis, polycythemia and hyper viscosity leading to cerebral sinus venous thrombosis (CSVT). However, data regarding the characteristics and prevalence of JAK2-V617F mutation in patients with CSVT are currently lacking. We aimed to evaluate the characteristics of CSVT patients that carry the JAK2 mutation.
Liora Livshitz, Tsafrir Or: The effects of a multi-day cross-country mountain bike race on myocardial function, stress, inflammation and cardiac biomarkers in amateur master athletes (Res Sports Med . )
This study aimed to examine the effects of a multi-day mountain bike race on amateur master athlete cyclists (AMA).
Ran Handel: What we know about the role of corticosteroids in psychiatric disorders; evidence from animal and clinical studies (J Psychiatr Res .)
Corticosteroids, often known as steroids, are anti-inflammatory medicine prescribed for various conditions. There is accumulating evidence of immune dysregulation in major psychiatric disorders. Significant changes in concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers (i.e., IL-6 and TNF-a) have been previously reported in individuals with schizophrenia, autistic individuals, and depressive patients. Thus, systemic corticosteroids can be used as an adjuvant treatment to reduce inflammation in major psychiatric disorders. However, despite their well-known potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant properties, this treatment is often associated with increased severity of several psychiatric symptoms and relapse. This article reviews the available literature on psychiatric and cognitive changes during corticosteroid therapy.
Ilan Shamir: Atenolol treatment does not affect behavioral outcomes in pediatric patients with infantile hemangiomas: a case-control cohort study (J Am Acad Dermatol . )
To the Editor: Recently, atenolol has generated interest as an alternative to propranolol in the treatment of Infantile hemangioma (IH), due to comparable efficacy and better safety profile, in terms of CNS-related adverse effects. Despite the promising benefits of atenolol treatment, its effects on CNS development in children have not been evaluated to date. Theoretically, atenolol, unlike propranolol which is lipophilic, has a hydrophilic structure that prevents it from crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). However, animal studies have shown that atenolol is actively effluxed into the brain and is able to induce central toxicity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of atenolol treatment on CNS development in infants with IH.
Hanna Mandel, Nadra Nasser Samra: Vici syndrome in Israel: Clinical and molecular insights (Front Genet .)
Vici Syndrome is a rare, severe, neurodevelopmental/neurodegenerative disorder with multi-systemic manifestations presenting in infancy. It is mainly characterized by global developmental delay, seizures, agenesis of the corpus callosum, hair and skin hypopigmentation, bilateral cataract, and varying degrees of immunodeficiency, among other features. Vici Syndrome is caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in EPG5, resulting in impaired autophagy. Thus far, the condition has been reported in less than a hundred individuals. Objective and Methods: We aimed to characterize the clinical and molecular findings in individuals harboring biallelic EPG5 variants, recruited from four medical centers in Israel. Furthermore, we aimed to utilize a machine learning-based tool to assess facial features of Vici syndrome.