Publications by authors named "Rami Abu-Fanne"

Polyvascular disease, is a prevalent comorbidity among patients with acute heart failure (AHF). Previous research has shown that polyvascular disease is a poor prognostic factor in patients with heart failure. However, data on the relationship between the extent of vascular disease involvement and outcomes in AHF patients are limited.

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  • Cardiogenic shock (CS) is a critical concern for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), particularly those with multiple vascular diseases, leading to higher mortality rates.
  • The study analyzed data from over 136,000 patients with AMI and CS, revealing that as the number of diseased vascular beds increases, the likelihood of receiving invasive procedures like PCI and CABG decreases, which also correlates with worse health outcomes.
  • The findings emphasize the need for early detection and aggressive treatment of polyvascular disease to improve management and outcomes for AMI patients experiencing cardiogenic shock.
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  • During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. saw a 24.8% increase in atrial fibrillation (AF)-related mortality, particularly affecting young individuals and minorities.
  • The study analyzed over 1.2 million AF-related death cases across three time periods: before, during, and after the pandemic peak, using CDC data.
  • Results indicate a need for targeted healthcare policies to address AF and its associated disparities among various demographics, especially during future health crises.
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  • Diabetes mellitus (DM) worsens the outcomes for patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS) and polyvascular disease, increasing their risk of serious health issues.
  • A study analyzing over 39,000 patients found that those with DM were younger and more likely to be female, and they faced a 17% higher risk of mortality as well as an increased chance of adverse cardiovascular events compared to those without DM.
  • The results highlight the need for specialized care and interventions for patients with DM and AMI complicated by CS, as these individuals experience longer hospital stays and higher costs due to their increased health risks.
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  • Inflammation is key in the development of atherosclerosis, and alpha-defensin, a neutrophilic peptide, may be a potential risk factor for cardiovascular events.
  • A study involving 174 patients showed that those with higher baseline alpha-defensin levels had a 20% increased level among patients who passed away, suggesting a strong link between higher levels and mortality risk.
  • The findings indicate that plasma alpha-defensin can independently predict mortality and need for repeat procedures in stable coronary artery disease patients, highlighting its potential for future cardiovascular risk assessments.
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While the vast majority of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is non-familial, the animal models of AD that are commonly used for studying disease pathogenesis and development of therapy are mostly of a familial form. We aimed to generate a model reminiscent of the etiologies related to the common late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) sporadic disease that will recapitulate AD/dementia features. Naïve female mice underwent ovariectomy (OVX) to accelerate aging/menopause and were fed a high fat-sugar-salt diet to expose them to factors associated with increased risk of development of dementia/AD.

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  • - The study focuses on balancing ischemic event reduction and bleeding risk during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) by monitoring anticoagulation therapy using activated clotting time (ACT) with unfractionated heparin (UFH).
  • - Researchers compared ACT measurements from both a coronary guide catheter and an arterial access sheath in patients undergoing PCI, finding that catheter samples had significantly higher ACT values than those from the sheath.
  • - The results indicate that a notable percentage of patients may have an ACT deemed therapeutic when measured from the guide catheter, but considered inadequate when measured from the access sheath, which could impact clinical safety during procedures.
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  • A significant number of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have few or no standard modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (SMuRFs), such as hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking.
  • The study analyzed patients based on how many SMuRFs they had and found that as the number of SMuRFs increased, the risk of target lesion failure (TLF) also rose significantly.
  • Patients without SMuRFs had better outcomes, but there's a need for further research to improve treatment strategies for the majority who do have risk factors.
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Tramadol is primarily metabolized by the highly polymorphic enzyme, leading to a large spectrum of adverse events and clinical response. Ample evidence pointed a reduced CYPD26 activity score in individuals harboring the genotype, nevertheless, there is scarce studies on the impact of *10/*10 genetic polymorphism on long-term tramadol's adverse effects. To test the correlation between *10/*10 expression and the risk for tramadol-associated adverse effects.

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  • A large number of patients over 50 undergoing coronary angiography often have normal or non-obstructive coronary artery disease, leading to a study on their long-term outcomes and re-catheterization rates.
  • Out of 1939 NOCAD patients identified, 90% did not require repeat angiography while 10% did; among those who had repeat procedures, a small percentage resulted in successful angioplasty.
  • Key risk factors like male gender, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking were more prevalent in patients needing intervention, and many were not regularly prescribed statins or aspirin for treatment.
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  • Inflammation is linked to dysmetabolism, and a study on transgenic mice (Def) shows that the neutrophilic peptide alpha defensin can contribute to atherosclerosis despite normal cholesterol and glucose levels.
  • The study involved various assessments (metabolic, biochemical, pathological) that revealed that Def mice had lower energy expenditure and carbohydrate utilization, but higher fat oxidation, alongside abnormal levels of glucagon and other metabolites.
  • The findings suggest that alpha defensin leads to hypoglucagonemia, increased fat breakdown, reduced glucose oxidation, and could serve as a model for exploring the connection between inflammation and metabolic health in atherosclerosis.
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  • - The study evaluates the outcomes of patients with multivessel disease (MVD) who received surgical revascularization after a remote consultation, particularly focusing on the rate of anatomical complete revascularization (ACR) and its impact on patient mortality.
  • - Out of 314 included patients, those who underwent ACR showed significantly higher 4-year mortality rates compared to those who had not, indicating that ACR may be linked to better survival outcomes.
  • - The research suggests that performing partial revascularization without a structured heart team may lead to higher than expected mortality and other adverse events, highlighting the need for better collaborative treatment approaches in centers lacking on-site surgical services.
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Background-Various antidepressant agents are metabolized by the CYP2C19 enzyme, including Citalopram and Escitalopram. Variation in CYP2C19 expression might give rise to different plasma concentrations of the active metabolites, potentially affecting both drugs' efficacy and tolerability. Aim-The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in the Escitalopram and Citalopram efficacy and tolerability between different CYP2C19 genotype-based metabolizing categories in outpatients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD).

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Introduction: High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) is not used routinely as a diagnostic biomarker in newborns. The high precision of hs-cTnT assays increases the ability to determine small differences in cTnT over time and to detect troponin T elevation; thus, we believe that hs-cTnT assays might improve clinical care. We explored the plausible association between hs-cTnT levels (ng/L) in healthy newborns and prolonged second stage of labor, neonatal, and maternal factors.

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It is prudent to develop biomarkers that enhance the differentiation between viral and bacterial infection in order to support expeditious and judicious antimicrobial implementation in emergency department admissions. Human neutrophilic peptides 1-3 (HNP1-3) are the major neutrophilic peptides with potent antimicrobial activity. We tested the performance of the plasma HNP1-3 test in a prospective observational cohort of children admitted to the emergency department for fever.

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Risk models to estimate percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) mortality have limited value in complex high-risk patients. However, it was improved by a recently developed bedside model to predict in-hospital mortality using data from the American College of Cardiology CathPCI Registry that included 706,263 patients. The median risk-standardized in-hospital mortality rate was 1.

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: 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.

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Objective: To investigate the impact of preoperative double J (DJ) stent insertion on outcomes of retrograde semi-rigid ureteroscopy (URS) in patients with upper small and medium sized ureteral stones.

Methods: Between April 2018 and September 2019, we retrospectively reviewed the medical register of Hillel Yaffe tertiary reference Centre (HYMC) for patients who had undergone retrograde semi-rigid URS for urolithiasis. Patients were separated into two groups depending on whether they accepted the DJ stent placement before URS (Group A) or not (Group B).

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: Neutrophil infiltration is an established signature of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Steatohepatitis (NASH). The most abundant neutrophilic peptide, alpha-defensin, is considered a new evolving risk factor in the inflammatory milieu, intimately involved in lipid mobilization. Our objective is to assess for potential association between alpha-defensin immunostains and NAFLD severity.

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The extent of the protection against SARS-CoV-2 conferred by natural infection is unclear. Vitamin D may have a role in the interplay between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the evolving acquired immunity against it. We tested the correlation between baseline 25(OH) D content and both the reinfection rate and the anti-spike protein antibody titer following COVID-19 infection.

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Background: Despite early and currently effective epicardial coronary recanalization, the mortality rate after mechanical complication (MC) remains high, especially in cardiogenic shock. There is an increase in the use of mechanical circulatory support in patients with cardiogenic shock and MC, however, evidence is still scarce and most studies exclude patients with mechanical complications.

Methods: Using the National Inpatient Sample database from 2015 to 2018 to identify patients with AMI, we aimed to determine the predictors and outcomes of patients with MC, subtypes and the use of MCS.

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Objective: Vaccines against COVID-19 induce specific antibodies whose titer is perceived as a reliable correlate of protection. Vitamin D confers complex regulatory effects on the innate and adaptive immunity. In this study, we explored a plausible impact of baseline vitamin D content on achieved immunity following COVID-19 vaccination.

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Objective: Inflammation is associated with atherogenesis. Although a higher neutrophil count is associated with the plaque burden, the role of neutrophil activation is unclear. Human neutrophil peptides 1-3 (HNP1-3) are a risk factor for atherogenesis in bench models and are elevated in human atheromas.

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Background And Aims: Morphine use for patients presenting with NSTE-ACS is associated with excess mortality. However, the role of morphine in STE-ACS is ill characterized. We have recently confirmed direct prothrombotic effect of morphine using murine models.

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The mortality of women with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) exceeds that of men, supposedly the result of older age and co-morbidities. Patients with STEMI can be transported directly to the catherization lab by the emergency medical service (EMS) or to the emergency department (ED) by the EMS, a regular ambulance, or independently. This raises the question whether gender disparity in the transport of patients with STEMI may affect time to therapy and consequently explain the disparate outcome in men and women with STEMI.

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