ATM germ line pathogenic variants affect outcomes in children with ataxia-telangiectasia and hematological malignancies.

Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is an autosomal-recessive disorder caused by pathogenic variants (PVs) of the ATM gene, predisposing children to hematological malignancies. We investigated their characteristics and outcomes to generate data-based treatment recommendations. In this multinational, observational study we report 202 patients aged ≤25 years with A-T and hematological malignancies from 25 countries.

A Need for a Novel Survival Risk Scoring System for Intensive Care Admissions Due to Sepsis in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Patients.

Children with hemato-oncological diseases or following stem cell transplantation (SCT) are at high risk for life-threatening infections; sepsis in this population constitutes a substantial proportion of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions. The current pediatric prognostic scoring tools to evaluate illness severity and mortality risk are designed for the general pediatric population and may not be adequate for this vulnerable subpopulation. Retrospective analysis was performed on all PICU admissions for sepsis in children with hemato-oncological diseases or post-SCT, in a single tertiary pediatric hospital between 2008 and 2021 ( = 233).

Maternal exposure to particulate matter early in pregnancy and congenital anomalies in offspring: Analysis of concentration-response relationships in a population-based cohort with follow-up throughout childhood.

Studies have suggested an association between particulate matter (PM) air pollution and certain congenital anomalies (CAs). However, most studies assumed a linear concentration-response relation and were based on anomalies that were ascertained at birth or up to 1 year of age. We investigated associations between exposures to PM during the first trimester of pregnancy and CAs in 9 organ systems using birth and childhood follow-up data from a leading health care provider in Israel.

Invasive Fusariosis in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant Patients: A Report from the Israeli Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.

Invasive Fusarium species infections in immunocompromised patients occur predominantly in those with hematological malignancies. Survival rates of 20−40% were reported in adults, but data in children are limited. Our retrospective, nationwide multicenter study of invasive fusariosis in pediatric hematology/oncology and stem cell transplant (SCT) patients identified twenty-two cases.

Mother-level random effect in the association between PM and fetal growth: A population-based pregnancy cohort.

Background: A growing body of literature reports associations between exposure to particulate matter with diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM) during pregnancy and birth outcomes. However, findings are inconsistent across studies.

Elevated intraocular pressure in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: A prospective study.

Most childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) protocols include high-dose steroid therapy. However, the known potential of high-dose steroids to significantly elevate intraocular pressure (IOP) and lead to glaucomatous optic neuropathy has not been intensively investigated in children with ALL. Moreover, as children with ALL do not routinely undergo IOP measurements, the need for IOP monitoring and therapy is unknown.

The "Sick immigrant" and "Healthy immigrant" phenomenon among Jews migrating from the USSR to Israel.

The "healthy immigrant" phenomenon finds that immigrants are in better health than natives, while the "sick immigrant" phenomenon finds the opposite. We examined this phenomenon using the relationship between immigration and mortality, stratified by income level, among Soviet immigrants to Israel in the 1990s, compared to veteran immigrants with similar ethnic origin. A retrospective cohort study of mortality during 1990-2016 was conducted among 63,847 immigrants born during 1940-1950 in the USSR or Eastern Europe, and who immigrated to Israel during 1990-1995.

Concentration-response relationships between hourly particulate matter and ischemic events: A case-crossover analysis of effect modification by season and air-mass origin.

Most studies linking cardiovascular disease with particulate matter (PM) exposures have focused on total mass concentrations, regardless of their origin. However, the origin of an air mass is inherently linked to particle composition and possible toxicity. We examine how the concentration-response relation between hourly PM exposure and ischemic events is modified by air-mass origin and season.

Venous Thromboembolism and Its Risk Factors in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Israel: A Population-Based Study.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious complication of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy. The aim of this population-based study was to evaluate the rate, risk factors, and long-term sequelae of VTE in children treated for ALL. The cohort included 1191 children aged 1-19 years diagnosed with ALL between 2003-2018, prospectively enrolled in two consecutive protocols: ALL-IC BFM 2002 and AIEOP-BFM ALL 2009.

Mucormycosis in children with haematological malignancies is a salvageable disease: a report from the Israeli Study Group of Childhood Leukemia.

Mucormycosis has emerged as an increasingly important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients, but contemporary data in children are lacking. We conducted a nationwide multicentre study to investigate the characteristics of mucormycosis in children with haematological malignancies. The cohort included 39 children with mucormycosis: 25 of 1136 children (incidence 2·2%) with acute leukaemias prospectively enrolled in a centralized clinical registry in 2004-2017, and an additional 14 children with haematological malignancies identified by retrospective search of the databases of seven paediatric haematology centres.

Poorer outcome of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the Bedouin population: A report from the Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster-based Israeli national protocols.

Background: Therapy outcomes for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) had substantially improved in the last decades, but variability across racial and ethnic groups was identified in some clinical studies. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether such a difference in outcome is found in the diverse ethnicities in Israel as well.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted among 1154 patients (855 Jews, 195 Muslims, 52 Bedouins, 26 Druze, and 26 others) aged 1 to 21 years, who were diagnosed with ALL between 1989 and 2011 and were treated according to the same Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster-based Israel National Study protocols.

Blinatumomab as a bridge to further therapy in cases of overwhelming toxicity in pediatric B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Report from the Israeli Study Group of Childhood Leukemia.

Tremendous progress in the therapy of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been achieved through combination cytotoxic chemotherapy, leading to high cure rates, at the cost of significant life-threatening toxicity. The bispecific T-cell engager blinatumomab, recently approved for relapsed/refractory ALL, has a unique nonmyelotoxic toxicity profile. As blinatumomab causes B-cell depletion, the safety of its use during severe chemotherapy-induced toxicity is unclear.

Thrombophilia screening and thromboprophylaxis may benefit specific ethnic subgroups with paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

This study investigated the prevalence of inherited thrombophilia, risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and benefit of low molecular weight heparin prophylaxis in 476 Israeli children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treated between 2004 and 2016. Thrombophilia was found in 15·5%. Arab children had a higher prevalence of F5 R506Q (factor V Leiden) than Jewish children (19·4% vs.

Fine and Coarse Particulate Matter Exposures and Associations with Acute Cardiac Events among Participants in a Telemedicine Service: A Case-Crossover Study.

Background: Subclinical cardiovascular changes have been associated with ambient particulate matter (PM) exposures within hours. Although the U.S.

Traffic-related Air Pollution and Pregnancy Loss.

Background: Traffic-related air pollution has been linked to multiple adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, few studies have examined pregnancy loss, targeting losses identified by hospital records, a large limitation as it does not capture events not reported to the medical system.

Methods: We used a novel variation of the time-series design to determine the association, and identify the critical window of vulnerability, between week-to-week traffic-related air pollution and conceptions resulting in live births, using nitrogen dioxide (NO2) as a traffic emissions tracer.

Ethnic variation in medical and lifestyle risk factors for B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: A case-control study among Israelis and Palestinians.

Background: Risk factors for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) have not been assessed among Palestinian Arabs (PA) and Israeli Jews (IJ).

Methods: In a case-control study we investigated self-reported medical and lifestyle exposures, reporting odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals [CIs], by ethnicity, for overall B-NHL and subtypes.

Results: We recruited 823 cases and 808 healthy controls.

Respiratory hospitalizations of children living near a hazardous industrial site adjusted for prevalent dust: a case-control study.

The Neot Hovav Industrial Park (IP), located in southern Israel, hosts 23 chemical industry facilities and the national site for treatment of hazardous waste. Yet, information about its impact on the health of local population has been mostly ecological, focused on Bedouins and did not control for possible confounding effect of prevalent dust storms. This case-control study examined whether living near the IP could lead to increased risk of pediatric hospitalization for respiratory diseases.

Respiratory hospitalizations of children and residential exposure to traffic air pollution in Jerusalem.

Although exposure to traffic-related air pollution has been reported to be associated with respiratory morbidity in children, this association has not been examined in Israel. Jerusalem is ranked among the leading Israeli cities in transport-related air pollution. This case-control study examined whether pediatric hospitalization for respiratory diseases in Jerusalem is related to residential exposure to traffic-related air pollution.

The regression-based discrepancy definition of learning disability: a critical appraisal.

The regression-based discrepancy definition of learning disabilities has been suggested by Rutter and Yule as an improvement of the well-known and much criticized achievement-intelligence discrepancy definition, whereby the examinee's predicted reading attainment is substituted for the intelligence score in the discrepancy expression. Even though the regression-based discrepancy definition has been with us for more than 30 years, critical examination of this approach is scarce. This article fills this lacuna by examining the implications of two variables in the model on the diagnosis of learning disabilities: (a) the effect of predictive validity on the proportion of examinees identified as learning disabled, and (b) the effect of the predictor's identity on the identity of the examinees diagnosed with learning disabilities.

Extended triple intrathecal therapy in children with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a report from the Israeli National ALL-Studies.

Owing to the increased central nervous system (CNS) relapse risk in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), it is unclear whether preventive cranial radiation (pCRT) can be safely omitted. In this study, pCRT was replaced by extended triple intrathecal therapy (TIT) in prednisone good early responders - medium-risk (MR) group, accounting for 76% of T-ALL patients. From 1989 to 2003, 143 T-ALL patients aged 1-18 years were enrolled in the Israel National Studies (INS) 89 (n = 84) and INS 98 (n = 59) trials, based on ALL-Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster (BFM) 86/90 and ALL-BFM 95 protocols, respectively.

Improved mammographic interpretation of masses using computer-aided diagnosis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of computerized image enhancement, to investigate criteria for discriminating benign from malignant mammographic findings by computer-aided diagnosis (CAD), and to test the role of quantitative analysis in improving the accuracy of interpretation of mass lesions. Forty sequential mammographically detected mass lesions referred for biopsy were digitized at high resolution for computerized evaluation. A prototype CAD system which included image enhancement algorithms was used for a better visualization of the lesions.