חדשות המחקר

Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) affects more than 30,000 individuals in the US annually, with smoking and alcohol consumption being the main risk factors. Management of early stage tumors usually includes surgical resection followed by postoperative radiotherapy in certain cases. The cervical lymph nodes (LN) are the most common site for local metastasis and elective neck dissection is usually performed if the primary tumor thickness is greater than 3.5 mm. However, postoperative histological examination often reveals that many patients with early stage disease are negative for neck nodal metastasis, posing a pressing need for improved risk stratification to either avoid over-treatment or prevent the disease progression. To this end, we aimed to identify a primary tumor gene signature that can accurately predict cervical LN metastasis in patients with early stage OSCC. 

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Antibiotic resistance is one of the leading medical challenges with which we are currently faced. Antibiotics, while powerful medical tools, also wreak havoc on the endogenous microbiota. Many believe that probiotics can restore the microbiota following antibiotic treatment and might even suppress the spread of antibiotic-resistance genes, but a recent study (Montassier et al.) suggests otherwise.

AP1 is an inner nuclear membrane protein encoded by TOR1AIP1. A homozygous c.961C > T loss of function mutation in TOR1AIP1 that affects both isoforms of LAP1 was recently described. This mutation leads to the development of a severe multisystemic nuclear envelopathy syndrome. Here we describe the generation and characterization of two human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines derived from skin fibroblasts of two patients carrying the homozygous c.961C > T mutation. These novel lines can be used as a powerful tool to investigate the molecular mechanism by which LAP1 deficiency leads to the development of this severe hereditary disorder.

Serum biochemical changes during laparoscopic surgery and positive pressure pneumoperitoneum (PP) may reflect mild oxidative stress due to the ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) mechanism. However, there is still a controversy regarding the exact mechanism of PP in creating oxidative stress and whether the induction of PP causes I/R effects at all. To elucidate this debated issue, we studied, for the first time, the changes of I/R parameters in the serum, in a pilot study, during laparoscopic cholecystectomy using a reliable, independent exogenous oxidative biomarker, together with common intrinsic biomarkers of oxidative stress.

This efficacy trial evaluated the effects of two polyphenolic stilbenes, resveratrol and pterostilbene, mostly found in grapes, on the brush border membrane functionality, morphology and gut microbiome. This study applied the validated Gallus gallus intra-amniotic approach to investigate the effects of stilbene administration versus the controls.

COVID-19 exerts deleterious cardiopulmonary effects, leading to a worse prognosis in the most affected. This retrospective multi-center observational cohort study aimed to analyze the trajectories of key vitals amongst hospitalized COVID-19 patients using a chest-patch wearable providing continuous remote patient monitoring of numerous vital signs.

This study was developed to explain the extraordinary rise in myopia prevalence beginning after 1950 in Indigenous Arctic communities considering recent findings about the risk factors for school myopia development. Myopia prevalence changed drastically from a historical low of less than 3% to more than 50% in new generations of young adults following the Second World War. At that time, this increase was attributed to concurrent alterations in the environment and way of life which occurred in an aggressive programme of de-culturalization and re-acculturation through residential school programmes that introduced mental, emotional and physical stressors. However, the predominant idea that myopia was genetic in nature won the discussion of the day, and research in the area of environmental changes was dismissed. There may have also been an association between myopia progression and the introduction of extreme mental, emotional and physical stressors at the time.

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Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is the most common inherited hemolytic anemia. The flow cytometric test using eosin-5'maleimide (EMA) is a well-established diagnostic method. However, in order to improve HS detection, it is recommended that EMA and an osmotic fragility test (OFT) both be performed. OFT is time consuming and labor intensive. We used a flow cytometric (FOFT) adaptation of the classical OFT reported by Yamamoto. We compare the FOFT to the classical OFT including practical data and propose options for simplifying this method.

Tracheostomy is an aerosol-generating procedure, thus performing it during the COVID-19 pandemic arises considerations such as the most appropriate timing and the patients to whom it is suitable. Medical teams lack sufficient data to assist determining whether or not to conduct tracheostomy, its short- and long-term implications are not fully understood. This study aims to shed light on the critically ill COVID-19 patients that require tracheostomy, and to investigate its value.

Red blood cell transfusion (RBCT) is a therapeutic procedure with important and undesirable secondary effects. Inappropriate overuse of RBCT is significant, and a significant percentage of physicians prescribe RBCT unnecessarily. Patient involvement in treatment decision-making is poor worldwide. Shared (with the patient) transfusion decision-making (TrDM) can temper a "quick finger on the trigger" of blood transfusion (BT). The objective of this study was to determine patients' preferences surrounding their involvement in the TrDM process as well as physicians' willingness to involve the patient in TrDM. The study also determined the role of patient age, gender, ethnicity, and schooling years in the TrDM process

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The association between body mass index (BMI) and clinical outcomes following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains controversial. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between BMI and AMI presentation, in-hospital clinical course and mortality in the contemporary era of AMI management.

Characterizes the fecal microbiome in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients.