Inhibition of endothelial Progenitor Cells Inhibition in the first 24 hours of an Acute Ischemic Cerebrovascular Event.

Background: Endothelial progenitor cells may have a role in ongoing endothelial repair. Impaired mobilization or depletion of these cells may contribute to progression of vascular disease. Our hypothesis was that endothelial progenitor cells would be suppressed in patients with acute cerebrovascular event based on our previous study that found severe endothelial dysfunction in those patients.

Serum miR-122 levels correlate with diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy is the most severe ocular complication of diabetes and may lead to visual disability and blindness. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is characterized by ischemia-induced neovascularization with associated complications. An association was established between the presence of PDR, cardiovascular disease, and mortality among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus in epidemiological studies.

Cheap and rapid in-house method for direct identification of positive blood cultures by MALDI-TOF MS technology.

Background: Rapid and accurate pathogen identification in blood cultures is very important for septic patients and has major consequences on morbidity and mortality rates. In recent years, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)-based technology has become useful for highly specific and sensitive identification of bacteria and yeasts from clinical samples including sterile body fluids. Additional in-house methods enabled direct identification from blood cultures following various preparation protocols.

Inhibition of endothelial progenitor cells may explain the high cardiovascular event rate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients may suffer cardiovascular (CV) events much more than the general population, and CV disease is the leading cause of death in patients with RA. Our hypothesis was that impaired function of endothelial progenitor cells may contribute to endothelial dysfunction and the clinical CV events of patients with RA.

Methods: About 27 RA patients (9 males and 18 females) with an active disease and 13 healthy subjects who served as the control group (nine males and four females) were enrolled to this prospective study.

In Vitro Antileishmanial Activity of a Black Morel, Morchella importuna (Ascomycetes).

We studied the anti-Leishmania activity of a fractionated extract from the mushroom Morchella importuna in an in vitro system. Leishmaniasis is an important infectious disease caused by a range of Leishmania species, which are multihost protozoa parasites transmitted to humans by the sand fly and infecting macrophages. Leishmaniasis is an increasing worldwide health problem, including in the Mediterranean basin.

Levels of adhesion molecules in peripheral blood correlat with stages of diabetic retinopathy and may serve as bio markers for microvascular complications.

Background: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is a devastating complication of diabetes mellitus, developing within 15 years in 50% of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) and in 10% of patients with type 2 DM. The correlation between levels of inflammatory markers in the peripheral blood and retinopathy staging has not been studied yet, and the purpose of this prospective study was to find a possible association between inflammation and staging of diabetic retinopathy.

Methods: A prospective (pilot) study that measured level of adhesion molecules in the peripheral blood of 10 healthy subjects and 30 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

[RESISTANCE OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI TO ANTIBIOTICS IN ISRAEL: PAST VS PRESENT].

Helicobacter Pylori (H. Pylori) is a spiral shaped Gram-negative bacterium which is known to cause chronic gastric inflammation (gastritis) that could develop into a gastric or duodenal ulcer. The standard first line therapy for H.

[COMPARISON OF CLINICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ARAB AND JEWISH CHILDREN LIVING IN THE GALILEE WHO HAVE SUFFERED FROM AN INTESTINAL INFECTION CAUSED BY CAMPYLOBACTER].

Introduction: Among all infectious agents that cause gastrointestinal infection in children, the most common is the Campylobacter bacterium. The bacterium has multiple virulence factors such as motility, adhesion and invasion of the human intestinal lining, and enzyme secretion. In recent years, there has been a worldwide increase in Campylobacter resistance to antibiotics.

GenoType® HelicoDR test in comparison with histology and culture for Helicobacter pylori detection and identification of resistance mutations to clarithromycin and fluoroquinolones.

Background: There are several methods for Helicobacter pylori infection diagnosis.

Aim: The efficacies of three methods for H. pylori identification directly from a biopsy were compared: histology, culture, and molecular GenoType® HelicoDR test.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from children in Israel.

Objectives: Helicobacter pylori is a bacterial pathogen causing inflammation of the gastric mucosa that may lead to peptic ulcer, perforation or malignancy. Children are at risk of contracting H. pylori and developing subsequent morbidity.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Clostridium difficile isolates in Israel.

Objectives: An increase of Clostridium difficile isolates with reduced susceptibility to various antimicrobial agents has been observed, including isolates that are non-susceptible to antibiotics that are routinely used for treatment of C. difficile, such as vancomycin and metronidazole. We determined the susceptibility rates of C.

Impaired ability to grow colonies of endothelial stem cells could be the mechanism explaining the high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality of patients with depression.

Background: Subjects with depression are more prone to develop cardiovascular complications. Severity of depression is associated with higher rates of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Several mechanisms were suggested including accelerated atherosclerosis, alteration of the cardiac autonomic response with a decrease in heart rate variability.

Comparison of sputum microbiome of legionellosis-associated patients and other pneumonia patients: indications for polybacterial infections.

Bacteria of the genus Legionella cause water-based infections resulting in severe pneumonia. Here we analyze and compare the bacterial microbiome of sputum samples from pneumonia patients in relation to the presence and abundance of the genus Legionella. The prevalence of Legionella species was determined by culture, PCR, and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS).

Peripartum maternal transmission of extended-spectrum β-lactamase organism to newborn infants.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the route of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) transmission to hospitalized newborns was from their mothers during delivery. Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalized newborns were sampled for ESBL presence by stool cultures on the first and fourth days of life. Mothers of ESBL-positive newborns were sampled for possible correlation detection.

Correlation between fecal calprotectin levels, disease severity and the hypervirulent ribotype 027 strain in patients with Clostridium difficile infection.

Background: Clostridium difficile is the most common infectious etiology of nosocomial diarrhea. Fecal calprotectin (fc) is a sensitive marker of intestinal inflammation, found to be associated with enteric bacterial infections and inflammatory bowel disease.

Methods: We evaluated fc levels using a Chemiluminescent immunoassay method, in hospitalized patients with C.

Efficacy of an Enrichment Media for Increasing Threshold for Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Screening.

Background: Identification of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is complex and a major laboratory challenge; clinical cultures may diagnose only some of the CRE carriers among patients, thus it is crucial to perform asymptomatic carriage screening.

Materials And Methods:  We compare the efficacy of a rectal sample culture prior to enrichment with BHI (Brain Heart Infusion) Broth and following 18-24 h. All rectal samples were applied on CHROMagar KPC selective growth media and then seeded on MacConkey agar selective growth media with an applied disk of Imipenem antibiotic on top of the media, then inserted into enrichment BHI Broth.

Association of Streptococcus bovis presence in colonic content with advanced colonic lesion.

Aim: To prospectively examine the association between presence of Streptococcus bovis (S. bovis) in colonic suction fluid and the endoscopic findings on colonoscopy.

Methods: From May 2012 to March 2013, 203 consecutive patients who underwent colonoscopy for any reason were enrolled in the study.

Comparison of Fluorescence Microscopy and Different Growth Media Culture Methods for Acanthamoeba Keratitis Diagnosis.

Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a potentially blinding infection of the cornea, is caused by a free-living protozoan. Culture and microscopic examination of corneal scraping tissue material is the conventional method for identifying Acanthamoeba. In this article, we compared several methods for AK diagnosis of 32 patients: microscopic examination using fluorescent dye, specific culture on growth media-non-nutrient agar (NNA), culture on liquid growth media-peptone yeast glucose (PYG), and TYI-S-33.

Catheter-associated candiduria: Risk factors, medical interventions, and antifungal susceptibility.

Background: Catheter-associated candiduria is a common clinical finding in hospitalized patients, especially in the intensive care unit. The objective of this study was to obtain demographic and clinical data regarding the prevalence of Candida spp in catheterized in-patients and the medical interventions provided to these patients in a northern Israeli hospital between 2011 and 2013.

Methods: Isolation and identification of microorganisms were performed on 1,408 urine culture samples 48 hours after catheter insertion.

Improvement and optimization of the classical gastric biopsy culture technique for Helicobacter pylori diagnosis using trypsin.

Helicobacter pylori infection represents a key factor in the aetiology of various gastrointestinal diseases. H. pylori infection diagnosis is generally achieved using both invasive (e.

Performance of Gram staining on blood cultures flagged negative by an automated blood culture system.

Blood is one of the most important specimens sent to a microbiology laboratory for culture. Most blood cultures are incubated for 5-7 days, except in cases where there is a suspicion of infection caused by microorganisms that proliferate slowly, or infections expressed by a small number of bacteria in the bloodstream. Therefore, at the end of incubation, misidentification of positive cultures and false-negative results are a real possibility.