The long-term effect of COVID-19 infection on olfaction and taste; a prospective analysis.

Purpose: To estimate long-term prognosis of chemosensory dysfunctions among patients recovering from COVID-19 disease.

Methods: Between April 2020 and July 2022, we conducted a prospective, observational study enrolling 48 patients who experienced smell and/or taste dysfunction during the acute-phase of COVID-19. Patients were evaluated for chemosensory function up to 24 months after disease onset.

[IMPACT OF CLINICAL PHARMACIST CONSULTATIONS ON RATE OF COMPLICATIONS, RE-HOSPITALIZATIONS AND MORTALITY IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING BARIATRIC SURGERY].

Background: Patients undergoing bariatric surgery are prone to changes in absorption, improvement in their chronic diseases and other pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic alteration which can affect continuation and the required doses of their chronic medications.

Objectives: To examine the effect of a clinical pharmacist's consultation on the rate of complications, re-hospitalizations and mortality among patients who underwent bariatric surgery.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, results of bariatric patients who were consulted by a clinical pharmacist between the years 2013-2019 were compared with the results of a wider group of bariatric patients with chronic diseases who were recorded in the Israeli General Bariatric Registry during the same years.

An immune-protein score combining TRAIL, IP-10 and CRP for predicting severe COVID-19 disease.

COVID-19 patients are oftentimes over- or under-treated due to a deficit in predictive management tools. This study reports derivation of an algorithm that integrates the host levels of TRAIL, IP-10, and CRP into a single numeric score that is an early indicator of severe outcome for COVID-19 patients and can identify patients at-risk to deteriorate. 394 COVID-19 patients were eligible; 29% meeting a severe outcome (intensive care unit admission/non-invasive or invasive ventilation/death).

Observational cohort study of IP-10's potential as a biomarker to aid in inflammation regulation within a clinical decision support protocol for patients with severe COVID-19.

Background: Treatment of severely ill COVID-19 patients requires simultaneous management of oxygenation and inflammation without compromising viral clearance. While multiple tools are available to aid oxygenation, data supporting immune biomarkers for monitoring the host-pathogen interaction across disease stages and for titrating immunomodulatory therapy is lacking.

Methods: In this single-center cohort study, we used an immunoassay platform that enables rapid and quantitative measurement of interferon γ-induced protein 10 (IP-10), a host protein involved in lung injury from virus-induced hyperinflammation.

The Israel National Bariatric Surgery Registry: the inception process.

Background: Obesity rates in Israel are increasing, and so is the popularity of bariatric surgeries, which reached in 2017 a prevalence rate of 1428.7 surgeries per million citizens. However, data regarding patient characteristics and surgery outcomes, including complications, are limited and the procedure requires monitoring.

Coma as a presenting sign of Datura stramonium seed tea poisoning.

Datura stramonium is a hallucinogenic plant that causes serious poisoning. Consumption of any part of the plant may result in a severe anticholinergic reaction that may lead to toxicity and occasionally cause diagnostic difficulties. We report two patients with coma as a presenting sign of intoxication following intentional Datura seed tea ingestion and we review the leading clues for its diagnosis and treatment.

Impact of gastric banding on plasma adiponectin levels.

Background: Several endocrine abnormalities are reported in obesity. In an earlier study, we found that the changes in BMI following laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) were associated with changes in hormone profiles such as insulin and proinsulin. In the current study, we explored the changes in plasma adiponectin levels in morbidly obese subjects who lost abundant weight following LAGB.

Impact of gastric banding on plasma ghrelin, growth hormone, cortisol, DHEA and DHEA-S levels.

Background: Several endocrine abnormalities are reported in obesity. Some are considered as causative factors, whereas others are considered to be secondary effects of obesity. In the current study, we explored the changes in cortisol, growth hormone (GH), DHEA, DHEA-S and GH releasing hormone (ghrelin) plasma levels in morbidly obese subjects who lost abundant weight following laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB).

Distribution of catecholamines between fetal and maternal compartments during human pregnancy with emphasis on L-dopa and dopamine.

This study was undertaken to determine the differential distribution of catecholamines, in particular L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa) and dopamine, between the fetal and maternal compartments during human pregnancy. Amniotic fluid and fetal and maternal blood were obtained from two groups of pregnant women with uncomplicated pregnancies. One group was at 15-20 weeks of gestation and the second group was in labor after 36-41 weeks of gestation.