Onychomycosis and future onset of type 2 diabetes.

Introduction: Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nail with an increasing prevalence worldwide. Diabetes has been shown to elevate onychomycosis risk by 2.5-3-fold.

Computerized Analysis of the Eye Vasculature in a Mass Dataset of Digital Fundus Images: The Example of Age, Sex, and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma.

Objective: To develop and validate an automated end-to-end methodology for analyzing retinal vasculature in large datasets of digital fundus images (DFIs), aiming to assess the influence of demographic and clinical factors on retinal microvasculature.

Design: This study employs a retrospective cohort design to achieve its objectives.

Participants: The research utilized a substantial dataset consisting of 32 768 DFIs obtained from individuals undergoing routine eye examinations.

Cognitive decline in older adults with type 2 diabetes: Unraveling site-specific glycoproteomic alterations.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is consistently related to an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. However, the molecular underpinnings of this association remain poorly understood. In this study, we applied a novel mass spectrometry-based glycoproteomic methodology to profile serum glycoproteins in older adults with T2D, aiming to identify glycopeptiforms associated with cognitive impairment.

Prognostic and biological characteristics associated with multiple myeloma presenting only with anemia.

Not available.

Clinical outcomes in older adults treated outside clinical studies: highlighting the octogenarian experience.

With an aging population, multiple myeloma (MM) increasingly affects octogenarians (Octos; age of ≥80 years), yet data on their management and outcomes, particularly if treated outside clinical trials, remain limited. This retrospective study analyzed 652 patients aged ≥70 years, diagnosed with active MM between 2014 and 2023, identified in the Maccabi Healthcare Services medical records. Patient characteristics, treatment, time to next treatment (TTNT), overall survival (OS), and factors influencing outcomes, were compared between Octo and older adults (OL) aged 70 to <80 years.

Antibiotic susceptibility of pathogens isolated in respiratory tract samples of recently hospitalized patients.

Community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections (CA-LRTIs) treatment is largely empirical as microbiologic testing is rarely performed. Here, we provide microbiologic data of severe CA-LRTI cases requiring hospitalization. We aim to describe the distribution and susceptibility patterns of pathogens causing severe CA-LRTI.

Long-term effect of corticosteroid treatment during acute COVID-19 infection on pulmonary function test results.

Background: The outbreak of the novel coronavirus 19 has led to unprecedented clinical challenges globally. Various therapeutic and pharmacologic interventions have been proposed, yet evidence of their long-term efficacy remains limited. Corticosteroids (CS) have shown efficacy in the sub-acute phase of the pandemic.

Sympathetic response following unannounced loss of balance during walking in young adults: laboratory study.

An unannounced balance loss during walking, i.e., balance perturbation, is a stressful event, which changes the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS).

Impact of PROphet Test in Changing Physicians' Therapeutic Decision-Making for Checkpoint Immunotherapy in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) regimens are approved for first-line treatment of metastatic nononcogene-driven NSCLC. Guidelines do not differentiate which patients with PD-L1 ≥ 50% should receive ICI monotherapy. The clinically validated PROphet NSCLC plasma proteomic-based test is designed to inform this therapeutic decision.

The use of time-dynamic patterns of temperature and flexible generalized models to clarify the relations between temperature and semen quality.

Background: Sperm quality has decreased over the last decades worldwide. It is affected, among others, by season and heat. This study aimed to address the association between ambient temperature and sperm quality by assessing its shape using flexible multivariate models and identifying distinct time-dynamic patterns of temperature change based on unsupervised analysis.

Trends in decision-making by primary care physicians regarding common infectious complaints.

Background: Primary care physicians played an important role in the global response during the COVID-19 pandemic, but with the absence of laboratory and diagnostics services, the move to telehealth and the focus on respiratory assessment, they faced increased uncertainty when making clinical decisions.

Objectives: This paper aims to examine the impact of the pandemic on decisions made by primary care physicians, as measured by referrals to chest X-ray and laboratory tests and by prescriptions of antibiotics.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of all visits recorded with fever or cough, presenting to 209 community clinics in Southern Israel during the years 2018-2022.

Plasma Proteome-Based Test for First-Line Treatment Selection in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Current guidelines for the management of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without driver mutations recommend checkpoint immunotherapy with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, either alone or in combination with chemotherapy. This approach fails to account for individual patient variability and host immune factors and often results in less-than-ideal outcomes. To address the limitations of the current guidelines, we developed and subsequently blindly validated a machine learning algorithm using pretreatment plasma proteomic profiles for personalized treatment decisions.

Effect of angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor on physical activity in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, monitored by implantable electronic device home monitoring.

Aims: Angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) therapy is a cornerstone in the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), with significant improvement in mortality as well as morbidity and quality of life. However, maximal ARNI doses often result in hypotension. Recent studies with 'real world' experience suggest that lower doses of ARNI are as effective as higher doses.

Transesophageal echocardiography and computerized tomography angiography mismatch in left atrial appendage thrombus evaluation.

Background: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is the gold standard test for the diagnosis of left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombus. Nonetheless, computerized tomography angiography (CTA) is readily used to exclude LAA thrombus before pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) and LAA closure procedures. We aimed to assess the comparability of LAA thrombus diagnosis using chest CTA scans in patients with atrial fibrillation who underwent TEE.

Correlation between baseline immature platelets fraction levels and peak troponin in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Introduction: Elevated peak cardiac troponin levels have been linked with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Immature Platelets are young and relatively large platelets that are hyper-reactive and pro-thrombotic compared to regular platelets. Increased immature platelet fraction (IPF) has been associated with an elevated risk of thrombotic events.

Too Much of a Good Thing: The Association of Elevated Vitamin B12 Levels and Outcomes in Patients With Cancer Treated With Immunotherapy.

Metabolic pathways may regulate responses to cancer immunotherapy (IO). Due to its immunomodulatory properties, we sought to examine the association between serum vitamin B12 (VitB12) and survival in individuals with cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, compared with biological and chemotherapy. We collected data on patients with advanced cancer initiating intravenous antineoplastic treatment and a concomitant VitB12 measurement (elevated: >820 ng/L), between January 2010 and January 2022.

Mapping the splicing landscape of the human immune system.

Most human genes code for more than one transcript. Different ratios of transcripts of the same gene can be found in different cell types or states, indicating differential use of transcription start sites or differential splicing. Such differential transcript use (DTUs) events provide an additional layer of regulation and protein diversity.

Vertebrae but not femur marrow fat transiently decreases in response to body weight loss in an 18-month randomized control trial.

Background: Increased levels of bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) are negatively associated with skeletal health and hematopoiesis. BMAT is known to increase with age; however, the effect of long-term weight loss on BMAT is still unknown.

Objective: In this study, we examined BMAT response to lifestyle-induced weight loss in 138 participants (mean age 48 y; mean body mass index 31 kg/m), who participated in the CENTRAL-MRI trial.

Descriptive characteristics of continuous oximetry measurement in moderate to severe covid-19 patients.

Non-invasive oxygen saturation (SpO2) is a central vital sign used to shape the management of COVID-19 patients. Yet, there have been no report quantitatively describing SpO2 dynamics and patterns in COVID-19 patients using continuous SpO2 recordings. We performed a retrospective observational analysis of the clinical information and 27 K hours of continuous SpO2 high-resolution (1 Hz) recordings of 367 critical and non-critical COVID-19 patients hospitalised at the Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.