חדשות המחקר

In March 2021, a series of explosions shook a military base in Bata, Equatorial Guinea. As a response to government officials' request, the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps (IDF-MC) deployed an emergency aid team that faced two major challenges: (1) understanding the scenario, the injury patterns, and the needs of the local medical system; and (2) minimizing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak threats. This report describes the team design, the activities performed before and during the deployment, analyzes the pathology encountered, and shares lessons learned from the mission.

Recent developments in surgical techniques and grading schemas to treat temporal hollowing necessitate critically assessing their efficacy. This systematic review presents the currently available protocols for temporal hollowing, aimed toward improving the clinical approach, for the benefit of the surgeon and patient.

Compared to traditional manufacturing methods, additive manufacturing and 3D printing stand out in their ability to rapidly fabricate complex structures and precise geometries. The growing need for products with different designs, purposes and materials led to the development of 3D printing, serving as a driving force for the 4th industrial revolution and digitization of manufacturing. 3D printing has had a global impact on healthcare....The current review offers our perspective on the implementation of 3D-based technologies in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery, while indicating major clinical applications. Moreover, the current report outlines the 3D printing point-of-care concept in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Women with cervical cancer who undergo radical hysterectomy are often treated postoperatively with chemoradiation. Patient selection that minimizes adjuvant treatment is valuable. We compared two methods for predicting postoperative adjuvant treatment of women with tumor size ≥2 cm and <4 cm.

The natural history of lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy is favorable, with 95% of patients expected to be pain-free within 6 months of onset. Despite the favorable prognosis, operative treatment is often chosen by patients unable to "ride out" the radicular episode. Prospective studies comparing surgical with non-surgical treatment have demonstrated similar long-term results. We conducted a retrospective case-series study of patients with a lumbar disc herniation and intractable radicular pain without significant neurological deficits treated with intra-venous dexamethasone.

Obesity is a chronic disease, which has significant health consequences and is a staggering burden to health care systems. Obesity can have harmful effects on the cardiovascular system, including heart failure, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and atrial fibrillation (AF). One of the possible substrates might be epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), which can be the link between AF and obesity. EAT is a fat deposit located between the myocardium and the visceral pericardium. Numerous studies have demonstrated that EAT plays a pivotal role in this relationship regarding atrial fibrillation. This review will focus on the role of obesity and the occurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and examine the connection between these and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT). 

Endometrial polyps (EPs) are benign overgrowths of the endometrium, with the potential to cause severe complications, ranging from discomfort to inflammation and infertility. Dysfunction of endometrial fibroblasts may be a critical component leading to the development of polyps. While surgical intervention is the common remedy for severe cases, it comes with drawbacks, including infection, bleeding, and risk of damage to the cervix and adjacent tissues. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ASCs) are at the focus of modern medicine, as key modulators of tissue homeostasis, inflammation and tissue repair, rendering them prime candidate agents for tissue regeneration and cell-based therapies. In the current work, endometrial polyps were isolated from patients admitted to the OB/GYN department at the Galilee Medical Center and extracted fibroblasts (EPFs) were isolated and characterized...

CSNK2B encodes for casein kinase II subunit beta (CK2β), the regulatory subunit of casein kinase II (CK2), which is known to mediate diverse cellular pathways. Variants in this gene have been recently identified as a cause of Poirier-Bienvenu neurodevelopmental syndrome (POBINDS), but functional evidence is sparse. Here, we report five unrelated individuals: two of them manifesting POBINDS, while three are identified to segregate a new intellectual disability-craniodigital syndrome (IDCS), distinct from POBINDS.

Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) is a well-established technique for acquiring three-dimensional surface images of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). We present an optimized protocol for the exposure of mammalian cell nuclei and direct surface imaging of nuclear envelopes by FESEM, allowing for a detailed morphological comparison of individual NPCs, without the need for averaging techniques.

Explores maternal humoral immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the rate of vertical transmission.

(Manal Massalha, Enav Yefet, Orit Rozenberg, Sofia Soltsman, Jamal Hasanein, Tatiana Smolkin, Adi Alter, Yuri Perlitz, Zohar Nachum)

Metastasis accounts for the majority of cancer-related deaths. Despite decades of research, the prevention and suppression of metastasis remain an elusive goal, and to date, only a few metastasis-related genes have been targeted therapeutically. Thus, there is a strong need to find potential genes involved in key driver traits of metastasis and their available drugs. In this study, we identified genes associated with metastasis and repurposable drugs that potentially target them. 

Intracerebral hemorrhages (ICH) characteristics reportedly differ between different ethnic groups. We aimed to compare the characteristics of Jewish and Arab ICH patients in Israel. 

Sex and gender are concepts that are often misunderstood and misused, being utilized in a biased, preconceived, interchangeable way. Sex and gender medicine is generally overlooked, despite the profound impact of sex and gender on health outcomes. The aims of the present rapid systematic literature review were (i) to assess the extent to which sex- and gender-sensitive topics are covered in medical courses; (ii) to assess the need for and willingness toward integrating/incorporating sex and gender medicine into health-related education; (iii) to identify barriers and facilitators of the process of implementation of sex and gender medicine in medical teaching, mentoring, and training; and (iv) to evaluate the effectiveness of interventional projects targeting curriculum building and improvement for future gender-sensitive physicians. 

Unintentional childhood injuries are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Attempts to prevent child home injuries have rarely been implemented in hospital settings which present an important opportunity for intervention. The SHABI ('Keeping our Children Safe; SHomrim Al BetIchut Yeladenu') program recruits at-risk families presenting with child injury to the Emergency Department. Medical/nursing students conduct two home visits and provide safety equipment and guidance. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of SHABI on participating families' home-safety.

Determining COVID19 status is important for global epidemiology and individual-level vaccination decision-making. SARS CoV-2 Infection can generally only be detected during a 7-10 days period using PCR or rapid antigen testing, and infection specific anti nucleocapsid IgG assays are not universally available. We determined whether SARS-CoV-2 anti spike (anti-S) IgG levels could discriminate between vaccination and past infection when interpreted alongside vaccination timing.