Publications by authors named "Merav Ben David"

Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on the ocular symptoms, treatments, and outcomes for patients with Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD) using data from the Israel OPMD registry over a 15-month period.
  • Results showed that a significant number of the 30 patients studied, primarily of Bukhari descent, experienced issues like eye movement difficulties, ptosis, and diplopia, leading to multiple surgical interventions for some.
  • The findings highlight the importance of ongoing eye care for OPMD patients to manage serious ocular symptoms, ultimately aiming to enhance their quality of life and contribute to the existing knowledge on OPMD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Palliative radiation is often used to abate pain and prevent bone fractures in patients with metastatic cancer. Hypofractionation, meaning delivery of larger doses of radiation in each treatment session (fraction), has become the standard of care in most cases. It not only reduces the burden on the medical system and facilitates the relief of symptoms but also enables the maintenance of the continuity of systemic therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Oncoplastic surgery is an expanding approach for managing breast conservation because it offers improved cosmetic outcomes while maintaining oncological safety.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the oncological and surgical outcomes of patients who underwent oncoplastic procedures at a single institution.

Methods: The study population includes all consecutive breast cancer patients who underwent lumpectomy followed by immediate oncoplastic breast reconstruction with contralateral breast adjustment between 2010 and 2021.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the effectiveness and safety of MR-guided stereotactic body radiotherapy (MRgSBRT) for treating adrenal gland metastases, highlighting its clinical outcomes and toxicity levels.
  • A total of 255 patients with 269 adrenal metastases were analyzed, showing high local progression-free survival rates (94% at 1 year) and minimal severe toxicity (only 0.8% grade 3+ events).
  • The findings suggest that frequent dose adaptations are crucial for optimal outcomes, with improved results associated with higher radiation doses and single-fraction treatments, establishing benchmarks for future research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Stereotactic MR-guided on-table adaptive radiotherapy (SMART) allows the precise delivery of high-dose radiation to tumors in great proximity to radiation-sensitive organs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the toxicity and clinical outcome in locally advanced or recurrent pancreatic tumors, with or without prior irradiation, treated with SMART.

Methods: Patients were treated for pancreatic cancer (PC) using SMART technology to a prescribed dose of 50 Gy (BED, 100 Gy) in five fractions, with daily on-table adaptation of treatment plan.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To examine the risk factors for arm morbidity following breast cancer treatments, taking a broad view of all types of physical morbidity, including prolonged pain, lymphedema, decreased range of motion, and functional limitations.

Methods: A systematic literature review was performed according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Guidelines. Studies exploring the risk factors for prolonged arm morbidity following breast cancer surgery and treatments were included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: A wide range of surgical techniques has been described for breast conservation treatment (Oncoplasty) based on breast size and shape, as well as tumor size and location. However, there is a lack of standardization regarding the indications for oncoplastic reconstruction. This study aims to identify the presurgical parameters associated with poor cosmetic outcomes post-breast conserving treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The normal limits of nerve conduction studies are commonly determined by testing healthy subjects. However, in comprehensive real-life nerve conduction electrodiagnostic (EDX) evaluations, multiple nerves are tested, including normal nerves, for purposes of comparison with abnormal ones.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the average values of normal nerve conduction studies in a large population and examined the influence of age and sex.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rationale And Objectives: Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) induces the reconversion of fatty bone marrow to hematopoietic bone marrow. The bone marrow changes are detectable as signal intensity changes at MRI. The aim of this study was to evaluate sternal bone marrow enhancement following G-CSF and chemotherapy treatment in women with breast cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Exactly 50 years ago, the investigators of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project began to design the B-06 trial [...

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: We present our experience with MR-guided stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for 200 consecutive patients with prostate cancer with minimum 3-month follow-up.

Methods: Treatment planning included fusion of the 0.35-Tesla planning MRI with multiparametric MRI and PET-PSMA for Group Grade (GG) 2 or higher and contour review with an expert MRI radiologist.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates post-exercise intramuscular blood flow in patients with polyneuropathy from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1 (CMT1) compared to healthy individuals.
  • Using power Doppler ultrasound, researchers found significantly reduced blood flow in the gastrocnemius and elbow flexor muscles of CMT patients, particularly in the distal muscles.
  • The results suggest that decreased blood flow may serve as an early indicator of muscle impairment in those with neuropathy, correlating with muscle strength and disease severity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Anal squamous cell carcinoma (ASqCC) is a rare malignancy, traditionally treated with combined chemoradiation, with a continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and mitomycin C (MMC). Replacing intravenous (IV) 5-FU with oral capecitabine (oral fluoropyrimidine) has been reported as a non-inferior treatment option. However, these data are scarce, with variable results.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Amyloidosis due to the transthyretin Ser77Tyr mutation (ATTRS77Y) is a rare autosomal-dominant disorder, characterized by carpal-tunnel syndrome, poly- and autonomic-neuropathy, and cardiomyopathy. However, related symptoms and signs are often nonspecific and confirmatory tests are required. We describe the age and frequency of early symptoms and diagnostic features among individuals of Jewish Yemenite descent in Israel.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Autologous fat grafting (AFG) is commonly used as part of aesthetic and reconstruction procedures, but expanding and enhancing the recipient site capacity remains a major challenge.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe and assess an innovative intraoperative carbon dioxide (CO2) pneumodissection (CPD) recipient site preconditioning procedure intended to improve recipient site capacity and AFG outcomes.

Methods: From June 2019 to August 2021, 53 patients after mastectomy or lumpectomy (76 breasts) underwent 96 AFG procedures as a separate stage immediately following tissue preconditioning with CPD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Many wildlife species are live captured, sampled, and released; for polar bears () capture often requires chemical immobilization via helicopter darting. Polar bears reduce their activity for approximately 4 days after capture, likely reflecting stress recovery. To better understand this stress, we quantified polar bear activity (via collar-mounted accelerometers) and body temperature (via loggers in the body core [T] and periphery [T]) during 2-6 months of natural behavior, and during helicopter recapture and immobilization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) is often advocated for BRCA1/2 mutation carriers who face a heightened lifetime risk of breast cancer. However, many carrier patients seek alternative risk-reducing measures. In a phase II nonrandomized trial, we previously reported that prophylactic irradiation to the contralateral breast among BRCA carriers undergoing breast-conserving treatment significantly reduced subsequent contralateral breast cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Breast cancer patients and survivors frequently report fatigue, emotional, and cognitive disturbances, which reduce performance at all levels of occupation and make life quality issues a considerable clinical concern. The aim of this study is to evaluate attention and emotion regulation across radiotherapy period and the possible effects of complementary alternative medicine (CAM).

Methods: Fifty-seven patients with unilateral breast cancer underwent surgery and systemic chemotherapy before participating in this double-blind randomized study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Mutations in the HSPB1 gene are associated with a distal hereditary motor neuropathy type 2 (dHMN2) or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2F (CMT2F), usually with autosomal dominant inheritance. This study aimed to describe the phenotype of the HSPB1 c.407G>T (p.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

BAP1 germline pathogenic sequence variants (PSVs) underlie a unique tumor predisposition syndrome (BAP1-TPDS) associated with an increased lifetime risk for developing primarily pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma and uveal and cutaneous melanoma. Overwhelmingly, BAP1 PSVs are unique, family-specific inactivating variants. We identified seven families, six of Jewish Iraqi origin, harboring an identical BAP1 splice variant (c.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Common radiation dermatitis over radiation fields can be mild as minor erythema but can also be associated with blisters and skin desquamation. This phenomenon has been widely investigated and documented, especially in breast cancer patients. Obesity, smoking, and diabetes are known risk factors; however, we cannot predict the severity of radiation dermatitis prior to treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Notice

Message: fwrite(): Write of 34 bytes failed with errno=28 No space left on device

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 272

Backtrace:

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: session_write_close(): Failed to write session data using user defined save handler. (session.save_path: /var/lib/php/sessions)

Filename: Unknown

Line Number: 0

Backtrace: