Publications by authors named "Ifat Israel-Elgali"

There is still a pressing need for further investigation to bridge the gap in understanding the differences in gut microbiota composition between female runners and their male counterparts. We aimed to determine the gut microbiota composition in competitive non-professional female and male runners and to correlate the gut bacteria to performance. Our study included 40 subjects, of which 22 were runners (13 males and 9 females) and 18 control subjects (9 males and 9 females, representing the general population who perform light physical activity with a weekly running volume of ≤5 km per week).

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Purpose: Uveitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA-U) is a clinically silent vision-impairing disease. Early detection and aggressive treatment are crucial for optimal visual outcome. Alterations in levels of microRNAs (miRNAs) are characteristic of autoimmune diseases.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Key findings revealed that young women (20-35 years) show higher expression of certain protective genes, like selenoproteins and heat shock proteins, indicating better resistance to oxidative stress.
  • * The study identified age-related differences in gene expression (e.g., BID and CD99) that suggest middle-aged women may face higher inflammation risk, with implications for developing new diagnostics and treatments for healthy aging.
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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common and widespread mental disorder. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the first-line treatment for MDD. The relation between the inhibition of serotonin reuptake in the central nervous system and remission from MDD remains controversial, as reuptake inhibition occurs rapidly, but remission from MDD takes weeks to months.

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Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive compound of the cannabis plant and an exogenous ligand of the endocannabinoid system. In previous studies, we demonstrated that a single microdose of THC (0.002 mg/kg, 3-4 orders of magnitude lower than the standard dose for rodents) exerts distinct, long-term neuroprotection in model mice subjected to acute neurological insults.

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Citrin deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder associated with SLC25A13 gene pathogenic variants, with more than a hundred known at present. It manifests in neonates as failure to thrive and acute liver insufficiency. We herein describe a case of a 4-week-old infant who presented with insufficient weight gain and liver failure accompanied by hyperammonemia.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on the Druze population, which has a history of genetic isolation, leading to recurrent pathogenic variants in autosomal recessive disorders.
  • - Researchers conducted whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing on 158 Druze individuals to identify pathogenic variants and compared their findings to global databases.
  • - They found 34 pathogenic variants linked to different genetic disorders and recommend including these findings in future prenatal screening options for the Druze, pending further validation.
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  • Interstitial deletions of the 16q24.1-q24.2 region are linked to serious health issues, including alveolar capillary dysplasia, renal malformations, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
  • A case study is presented of a boy who has congenital lymphedema, distichiasis, hydronephrosis, and developmental delays due to a new microdeletion at this chromosome location.
  • This finding adds to our understanding of both the 16q24.1-q24.2 microdeletion syndrome and Lymphedema-Distichiasis syndrome, specifically indicating that the deletion affects the 3'-UTR region of the FOXC2 gene.
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Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are currently the first-line antidepressant drug treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). Treatment-resistant depression (TRD), defined as failure to achieve remission despite adequate treatment, affects ~30% of persons with MDD. The current recommended treatment for TRD is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), while ketamine is an experimentally suggested treatment.

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Intranasal treatment with oxytocin showed beneficial effects in post-traumatic stress disorder and autism spectrum disorders; however, it was not investigated as much in depression. Keeping in mind the favorable effects of oxytocin on animal models of anxiety and depression, we postulated that synergy between prescribed first choice drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and oxytocin could improve the treatment outcome compared with SSRI monotherapy. Our previous in vitro genome-wide transcriptomic study on human lymphoblastoid cell lines exposed to paroxetine resulted in increase of integrin β3 (ITGB3) gene expression, and further, ITGB3/CHL1 expression ratio was hypothesized to influence the sensitivity to SSRIs.

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