A cross-sectional study of risk factors associated with sarcopenia in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a chronic liver disease linked to several adverse health consequences that include metabolic disturbances affecting skeletal muscle. Sarcopenia, characterized by skeletal muscle loss, is commonly observed in individuals with MASLD. Our study aimed to identify modifiable lifestyle factors associated with sarcopenia in patients with MASLD.

Restoring natural killer cell activity in lung injury with 1,25-hydroxy vitamin D: a promising therapeutic approach.

Background And Aim: NK cells and NK-cell-derived cytokines were shown to regulate neutrophil activation in acute lung injury (ALI). However, the extent to which ALI regulates lung tissue-resident NK (trNK) activity and their molecular phenotypic alterations are not well defined. We aimed to assess the impact of 1,25-hydroxy-vitamin-D3 [1,125(OH)D] on ALI clinical outcome in a mouse model and effects on lung trNK cell activations.

High-fat diet mouse model receiving L-glucose supplementations propagates liver injury.

Background And Aims: Limited data link manufactured sweeteners impact on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). We aimed to evaluate the effects of manufactured sugars (L-glucose) compared to natural sugars (D-glucose) on phenotype, molecular and metabolic changes in mice models fed with either regular diet (RD) or high fat diet (HFD).

Methods: C57BL/6 mice fed 16-weeks with either RD; 70% carbohydrate or HFD; 60% fat, with or without additional glucose (Glu, at 18% w/v) to drinking tap water at weeks 8-16; of either natural (D-Glu) or manufactured (L-Glu) sugars.

Osteopontin neutralization increases vitamin D receptors on NKT cells and ameliorates liver fibrosis by promoting their activity.

Introduction And Aims: Vitamin D has an immunomodulatory property influencing the activity of NKT cells. We aimed to study the impact of osteopontin (OPN), a key driver of fibrosis, on NKT cells' vitamin D receptor (VDR) and activity alterations.

Methods: Liver fibrosis was induced in BALB/C mice with carbon-tetrachloride (CCl) for 8 weeks with either vitamin D [100 ng/kg] or InVivoMAb anti-mouse OPN [100 μg/kg] 2X/week started at week-4 of CCl The liver injury profile of serum ALT, AST, and inflammatory cytokines were evaluated.

Evaluation of knowledge and attitudes regarding Alzheimer's disease and related dementia among medical students in Palestine: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Dementia, a major global health concern, is an acquired disorder that causes a progressive decline in cognitive abilities, affecting learning and memory, language, executive function, complex attention, perceptual-motor skills, and social cognition. Our study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes regarding dementia and Alzheimer's disease among medical students.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 393 medical students in Palestine from August 2023 to November 2023.

E-cigarette use among university students in Palestine: Prevalence, knowledge, and determinant factors.

Background: Recent reports indicated accelerated rates of e-cigarette use, especially among youth in various Middle Eastern countries, including Palestine. Nevertheless, little is known about knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding this topic in Palestine. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of e-cigarette use among Palestinian university students, along with their knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about e-cigarette use.

Total phenolic contents, cytotoxic, free radicals, porcine pancreatic α-amylase, and lipase suppressant activities of plant from Palestine.

Artemisia dracunculus: L. () is a popular vegetable and spice cultivated across many Middle Eastern countries. The herb's aqueous extract has significant folkloric medicinal importance for treating various disorders.

Factor VII Deficiency in an End-Stage Renal Disease Patient With Recurrent Thrombosis: A Case Report.

Congenital factor VII deficiency is a rare bleeding disorder with variable presentations. Thromboembolism is a well-established complication of this heterogeneous disease. As it is a rare disease, there is no information regarding its treatment when it is present with other comorbidities such as end-stage renal disease.

Assessment of Perceptions and Predictors Towards Consanguinity: A Cross-Sectional Study from Palestine.

Background/aim: Consanguinity represents a biological relationship between two individuals. In clinical genetics, it specifically refers to the marriage between individuals who are second cousins or closer. The aim of the study is to assess perceptions and their predictors among the Palestinian population towards consanguinity.

Weaker SARS-CoV-2 vaccine responses in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with advanced liver fibrosis.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 vaccine responses that could harbor potential risks to chronic liver diseased patients.

Aims: To assess immune response following Pfizer's SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients with different liver fibrosis severities of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Methods: Clinical and histological (NAS-score and fibrosis stage) characteristics of NAFLD patients before vaccine were correlated with serologic vaccine responses of two doses of the BNT162b2.

The immune and metabolic treatment approach of using testosterone on mice models of liver injury.

Natural killer (NK) cells showed an anti-fibrotic effect; however, their function is thought to be impaired in advanced liver injury. In the current study, we aimed to assess the immune and metabolic impact of testosterone on mice models of liver injury. Carbon-tetrachloride induced liver fibrosis male mice models was i.

CCL24 regulates biliary inflammation and fibrosis in primary sclerosing cholangitis.

ˆCCL24 is a pro-fibrotic, pro-inflammatory chemokine expressed in several chronic fibrotic diseases. In the liver, CCL24 plays a role in fibrosis and inflammation, and blocking CCL24 led to reduced liver injury in experimental models. We studied the role of CCL24 in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and evaluated the potential therapeutic effect of blocking CCL24 in this disease.

delays hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation through the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway and exhibits anticoagulant effects with antimicrobial properties.

Boiss (AP) is a wild plant in Palestine whose leaves have a long history as food and medicine in Middle Eastern countries. The current study aimed to evaluate the biological characteristics of AP flower extract, including its antimicrobial and coagulation cascade activities and its effects on anticancer molecular pathways. The antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract of AP flowers was assessed using a microdilution assay against eight pathogens.

Alleviation of Hepatic Steatosis by Alpha-Defensin Is Associated with Enhanced Lipolysis.

: The neutrophilic peptide, alpha-defensin, is considered an evolving risk factor intimately linked with lipid mobilization. It was previously linked to augmented liver fibrosis. Here, we assess a potential association between alpha-defensin and fatty liver.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine alleviates disease burden and severity in liver transplant recipients even with low antibody titers.

Background And Aims: We retrospectively assessed the clinical Pfizer's mRNA SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccination outcomes and the serologic impact on liver transplant (LT) recipients.

Patients And Methods: One hundred and sixty-seven LT cases followed between March 1, 2020 and September 25, 2021, and were stratified into two groups: (1) 37 LT recipients after SARS-CoV-2 infection before vaccine era and (2) 130 LT recipients vaccinated with 2 doses without earlier SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Serum SARS-CoV-2 spike immunoglobulins (anti-S) were assessed 7 days following vaccination (Liaison assay).

Gundelia tournefortii inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma progression by lowering gene expression of the cell cycle and hepatocyte proliferation in immunodeficient mice.

Gundelia (G.) tournefortii has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and hypolipemic effects. We evaluated the anticancer effect of G.

Ecballium elaterium improved stimulatory effects of tissue-resident NK cells and ameliorated liver fibrosis in a thioacetamide mice model.

Ecballium elaterium (EE), widely used plant in Mediterranean medicine, showed anticancer activity. This study aimed to investigate EE effects on liver fibrosis in an animal model of thioacetamide (TAA). Intraperitoneal administration of TAA was performed twice weekly for four weeks in C57BL6J mice.

A Retrospective Study Using Mentzer Index for Prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia among Infants Visiting Maternal Centers at the Age of One Year.

Anemia, defined as a hemoglobin level two standard deviations below the mean for age, is prevalent in infants and children worldwide. Characterizing anemia as microcytic and normocytic depends on the mean corpuscular volume (MCV), which is an important parameter in differentiating many types of anemia. Microcytic anemia due to iron deficiency is the most common type of anemia in children.

Advanced Liver Fibrosis Correlates With Impaired Efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in Medical Employees.

The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine has been offered to nonallergic ≥16-year-old Israeli adults since December 19, 2020. Data regarding factors associated with vaccine ineffectiveness are limited. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of hepatic fibrosis on the efficacy of the BioNTech vaccine.

Risk Factors Associated With Diabetic Retinopathy: A Cross-Sectional Study Within Palestinian Patients in Northern West Bank.

Risk factors associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) have been widely researched worldwide, but the determinants of these factors among diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Palestine are currently unclear. We aimed to assess the prevalence of DR among DM in Northern West Bank and identify factors associated with DR natural history. Patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) (n = 300, age > 18 years) from a main diabetic center covering all northern provinces of Palestine were enrolled to this cross-sectional research.

Sodium/taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide as target therapy for liver fibrosis.

Objective: Sodium/ taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) is a membrane transporter affecting the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids (BAs). We aimed to evaluate NTCP's roles in humans and animal models of liver fibrosis (LF).

Design: Primary hepatic stellate cells (pHSCs) isolated from livers biopsies of patients with LF with different fibrosis grading were stained for NTCP.

Anticancer, Free Radicals, and Digestive Enzyme Inhibitory Activities of Schreb Root Four Solvent Fractions.

Background: Humankind used herbal products as a source of medicines since they understood their therapeutic benefits from ancient times. Therefore, the current research aimed to determine the anticancer, antioxidant, and metabolic enzyme inhibitory activities of (RS) root four solvent fractions for the first time.

Methods: The antioxidant, antilipase, and anti--amylase potentials of (RS) four solvent fractions were evaluated using standard biomedical assays.

The impact of filtered water-pipe smoke on healthy versus cancer cells and their neurodegenerative role on AMPA receptor.

Water pipe smoking is highly prevalent in developing countries, especially in Eastern Mediterranean regions. Research finds that more than 100 million people smoke a water pipe. Furthermore, tobacco smoking is one of the leading behavioral factors related to an increased risk of cancer, a leading cause of death globally.

Efficacy of Birth Dose Vaccination in Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Engerix-B and Sci-B-Vac.

Peripartum transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) from an infected mother to the child can be prevented in most but not all cases by immediate vaccination of the newborn. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of two licensed hepatitis B vaccines, Engerix-B versus Sci-B-Vac, in preventing peripartum HBV transmission. A prospective multicenter randomized controlled study in 4 delivery centers was performed from 2009 to 2014.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Isoxazole-Amide Analogues as Anticancer and Antioxidant Agents.

Cancer now is one of the leading causes of mortality in the world. There has been a lot of effort to discover new anticarcinogenic agents that allow treatment with fewer side effects. A series of isoxazole-carboxamide derivatives (-) were synthesised and evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against breast (MCF-7), cervical (HeLa), and liver (Hep3B) cancer cell lines and their antioxidant activity in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay.