Background: Gaucher disease (GD) is a rare autosomal recessive condition associated with clinical features such as splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and bone abnormalities. Three clinical forms of GD have been defined based on the absence (type 1, GD1) or presence (types 2 and 3) of neurological signs. Early diagnosis can reduce the likelihood of severe, often irreversible complications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe association between GD and cancer has been uncertain due to ascertainment bias in previously published studies. We analyzed cancer incidence using the Maccabi Healthcare Service (MHS) electronic health records among 264 patients with GD compared to 3440 matched controls. We ascertained cancers diagnosed before and after the index date (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Interleukin-1 (IL-1) inhibitors are approved for treating familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) that is resistant to colchicine. However, continued concomitant treatment with colchicine is imperative, as it is the only drug proven to prevent secondary amyloidosis. We aimed to compare the adherence to colchicine between patients with colchicine-resistant FMF (crFMF) who were treated with IL-1 inhibitors and patients with colchicine-sensitive FMF (csFMF) who were treated only with colchicine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To study geographic variations in sperm parameters using data from the trials that defined the reference ranges of the World Health Organization 2021 manual.
Design: Retrospective evaluation of the data used to define the World Health Organization reference ranges.
Setting: Not applicable.
Purpose: We aimed to examine how various types of cancer, classified histologically, affect semen quality. Methods: The study group included 313 patients who were diagnosed with cancer and reached for a sperm cryopreservation before a gonadotoxic treatment (PG-Tx group). Their semen parameters were compared to those of two control groups: (a) individuals who attended a fertility investigation and were found to be above the limit of the lower reference value of the WHO 2010 manual (ARL group), and (b) fertile men, whose semen parameters were obtained from the dataset of the WHO 2020 manual.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Previous meta-analyses concluded that there is a decline in sperm parameters over time. This conclusion might be incorrect due to inherent biases or focusing only on a single parameter - sperm concentration.
Objective: To study trends in sperm parameters over the past 20 years using data from the trials that defined the reference ranges of the World Health Organization manual.
Purpose: What is the trend in sperm parameters in a group of men attending a single reproductive center, over a 10-year period?
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 12,188 semen samples obtained from unique individuals who attended a university reproductive clinic from 2009 to 2018, inclusively. Semen analysis was done using computer-assisted sperm analysis and verified by an andrologist. Analysis was done after dividing the dataset into two groups: above WHO 2010 lower reference limits (ARL) (N = 6325) and below the reference limits (BRL) (N = 5521).
Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major increasing public health problem worldwide, with clinical and epidemiological differences between men and women. However, contemporary population-level data on incidence and survival are scarce.
Aim: To evaluate sex-specific contemporary trends in the incidence, prevalence, and long-term survival of non-valvular AF in a real-world setting.
This experimental prospective quasi-randomized study examining the impact of a medical clowning encounter after embryo transfer (ET) after in vitro fertilization (IVF) found that the pregnancy rate in the intervention group was 36.4%, compared with 20.2% in the control group (adjusted odds ratio, 2.
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