חדשות המחקר

Evaluates the efficacy and safety of a single carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser maintenance treatment in women previously treated successfully with laser for stress urinary incontinence (SUI), who have demonstrated a decline in treatment effect.

Myocardial infarction is the leading cause of cardiovascular mortality, with myocardial injury occurring during ischemia and subsequent reperfusion (IR). We previously showed that the inhibition of protein kinase C delta (δPKC) with a pan-inhibitor (δV1-1) mitigates myocardial injury and improves mitochondrial function in animal models of IR, and in humans with acute myocardial infarction, when treated at the time of opening of the occluded blood vessel, at reperfusion. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI), a key sarcomeric protein in cardiomyocyte contraction, is phosphorylated by δPKC during reperfusion. Here, we describe a rationally-designed, selective, high-affinity, eight amino acid peptide that inhibits cTnI's interaction with, and phosphorylation by, δPKC (ψTnI), and prevents tissue injury in a Langendorff model of myocardial infarction, ex vivo. 

Review.

Acromegaly is a rare condition typically caused by benign pituitary adenomas, resulting in excessive production of growth hormone. Clinical manifestations of acromegaly are diverse, varying from the overgrowth of body tissue to cardiovascular, metabolic, and osteoarticular disorders. Symptoms may emerge slowly, overlapping with other diseases and often involve many different healthcare specialists. In the last decade, efforts to provide an accurate and timely diagnosis of acromegaly have improved disease management and clinical experience. Despite this progress, marked differences in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of acromegaly exist from country-to-country. To address these inconsistencies in the region comprising Central and Eastern Europe, Israel, and Kazakhstan, a panel of acromegaly experts from 13 of these countries was convened. 

Medical ethics is a significant learning topic for medical students, and often studied through small group learning (SGL) to encourage critical thinking (CT) and tolerance for ambiguity, both considered particularly important when coping with medical ethics dilemmas. However, a previous study about CT and tolerance for ambiguity in medical ethics SGL produced mixed results. Debating is a pedagogical tool known to enhance CT but never used before in medical ethics learning. This paper examines whether the use of debate may enhance medical ethics SGL by contributing to the CT of students and their tolerance of ambiguity.

The effect of ethnicity on chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB) infection's course and outcome has attracted little research. We aimed to compare different aspects of ethnic disparities in CHB patients, including prevalence, phenotypes, management, and outcome between two major ethnic groups in Israel.

Patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) occasionally present with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In this study, we aimed to identify predictors for ICH in CVST patients.

Letter

Pregnant women with previous caesarean delivery might suffer from acute lower abdominal pain located at the site of previous caesarean scar (CS). The association between this complaint and uterine rupture (UR) is not fully understood. Therefore, we aimed to examine the risk of UR in women with acute persistent abdominal pain (APAP) over a previous CS and to investigate all the women with UR, with or without APAP and with or without previous CS, in order to determine risk factors, clinical presentation and management. 

Prior work has shown the utility of using Internet searches to track the incidence of different respiratory illnesses. Similarly, people who suffer from COVID-19 may query for their symptoms prior to accessing the medical system (or in lieu of it). To assist in the UK government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic we analyzed searches for relevant symptoms on the Bing web search engine from users in England to identify areas of the country where unexpected rises in relevant symptom searches occurred.

The endocytic reabsorption of proteins in the proximal tubule requires a complex machinery and defects can lead to tubular proteinuria. The precise mechanisms of endocytosis and processing of receptors and cargo are incompletely understood. EHD1 belongs to a family of proteins presumably involved in the scission of intracellular vesicles and in ciliogenesis. However, the relevance of EHD1 in human tissues, in particular in the kidney, was unknown.

This short opinion aimed to present the evidence to support our hypothesis that vulvodynia is a neuroinflammatory pain syndrome originating in the pelvic visceral nerve plexuses caused by the failure of weakened uterosacral ligaments (USLs) to support the pelvic visceral nerve plexuses, i.e., T11-L2 sympathetic and S2-4 parasympathetic plexuses. 

Superb microvascular imaging (SMI) is an innovative ultrasound image processing technique that provides greater detail and better visualization of small branching vessels. We assume that SMI will provide sufficient information regarding the severity of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and reflecting histological changes.

Aims: The aims was to assess the capabilities of SMI imaging regarding the early detection of kidney dysfunction and renal fibrosis in comparison to the reference standard renal biopsy for the early diagnosis of kidney fibrosis.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has significantly the delivery of healthcare all around the world. In part, an abnormal and unexplained high non-COVID-related cardiovascular mortality rate was reported during the outbreak. We assess the correlation between anxiety level and decision to seek medical care (DSMC) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cognitive impairment is frequently reported among anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS) patients as well as anti-phospholipid antibody (aPL) carriers, but it is less studied than other manifestations of this condition. Moreover, the exact prevalence of cognitive impairment in these patients has not been accurately determined, mainly due to inconsistency in the tools used to identify impairment, small sample sizes, and variability in the anti-phospholipid antibodies measured and positivity cutoffs...In this article, we review the current knowledge regarding the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical associations, and treatment of cognitive impairment associated with APS and aPL positivity.

Studies have demonstrated a potential correlation between low vitamin D status and both an increased risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 and poorer clinical outcomes. This retrospective study examines if, and to what degree, a relationship exists between pre-infection serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level and disease severity and mortality due to SARS-CoV-2.

(Amiel A Dror, Amani Daoud, Yoav Namir, Orly Yakir, Yair Shachar, Mark Lifshitz, Ella Segal, Lior Fisher, Matti Mizrachi, Netanel Eisenbach, Doaa Rayan, Maayan Gruber, Amir Bashkin, Edward Kayko)