Publications by authors named "Rima Wakim"

Background: Influenza represents a significant global health burden for individuals and society. This study assessed the burden of medically attended influenza at a tertiary medical center in Lebanon to describe the demographics, risk factors, and outcomes prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of patients who tested positive for the influenza virus during three seasons between July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.

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Human inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are a group of 485 distinct genetic disorders affecting children and adults. Signs and symptoms of IEI are heterogeneous, and accurate diagnosis can be challenging and depends on the available human expertise and laboratory resources. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has an increased prevalence of IEI because of the high rate of consanguinity with a predominance of autosomal recessive disorders.

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Introduction: Acinetobacter baumannii has become one of the most feared organisms in hospital-acquired infections during the past decades. Their multi-drug resistant profiles have rendered many broad-spectrum antibiotics ineffective. The purpose of this retrospective study is to describe and compare molecular characteristics of A.

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Article Synopsis
  • Patients with RAG mutations exhibit various immune-related disorders, including severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), autoimmunity, and inflammation, but there's a lack of detailed research on the immune dysregulation associated with these conditions.
  • Patients with specific RAG mutations (like hypomorphic/ delayed-onset CID-G/AI) produce a wider variety of autoantibodies, particularly after severe viral infections, suggesting a unique immune response not seen in other primary immunodeficiencies.
  • Experimental studies on RAG-deficient mice reveal that exposure to certain viral-sensing receptor agonists can trigger the production of autoantibodies, highlighting the role of environmental factors in amplifying immune dysregulation in RAG-related immun
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Monotherapeutic options for carbapenem resistant infections are limited. Studies suggest that combination therapy may be associated with better outcomes than monotherapies. However, this is still controversial.

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Using a protein microarray, a broad spectrum of autoantibodies were demonstrated in patients with either Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) or with X-linked thrombocytopenia (XLT), indicating that immune dysregulation is an integral component of both diseases.

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The objective of this study was to examine the epidemiology and the clinical manifestations of typhoid fever as well as the susceptibility and strain relatedness of Salmonella typhi isolates in Lebanon from 2006 to 2007. A total of 120 patients with typhoid fever were initially identified from various areas of the country based on positive culture results for S. typhi from blood, urine, stools, bone marrow and/or positive serology.

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Background: Dubowitz syndrome is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder characterized by intrauterine and postnatal growth retardation, severe microcephaly, psychomotor retardation, hyperactivity, eczema, and characteristic dysmorphic facial features. Although many cases have been reported, the cause of this disease is still unknown.

Case: We present here the case of a Lebanese girl with Dubowitz syndrome in whom an unpleasant urine odor was persistently reported since birth.

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The adaptors DOCK8 and MyD88 have been linked to serological memory. Here we report that DOCK8-deficient patients had impaired antibody responses and considerably fewer CD27(+) memory B cells. B cell proliferation and immunoglobulin production driven by Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) were considerably lower in DOCK8-deficient B cells, but those driven by the costimulatory molecule CD40 were not.

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Background: This study determined macrolide resistance genotypes in clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae from multiple medical centers in Lebanon and assessed the serotype distribution in relation to these mechanism(s) of resistance and the source of isolate recovery.

Methods: Forty four macrolide resistant and 21 macrolide susceptible S. pneumoniae clinical isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility according to CLSI guidelines (2008) and underwent molecular characterization.

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Oculo-auriculo-vertebral (OAV) spectrum summarizes a continuum of ocular, auricular, and vertebral anomalies. Goldenhar syndrome is a variant of this spectrum and is characterized by pre-auricular skin tags, microtia, facial asymmetry, ocular abnormalities, and vertebral anomalies of different sizes and shapes. Most cases are thought to be sporadic.

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Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common autosomal recessive disease in Caucasians; it is however, considered to be rare in the Arab populations. Reports of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) mutations from Arabs, especially from the Lebanese population, are limited.

Methods: Twenty-two unrelated Lebanese families, with at least one child with CF, were studied.

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The emergence of antiviral drug-resistant strains of the influenza virus in addition to the rapid spread of the recent pandemic A(H1N1) 2009 virus highlight the importance of surveillance of influenza in identifying new variants as they appear. In this study, genetic characteristics and antiviral susceptibility patterns of influenza samples collected in Lebanon during the 2008-09 season were investigated. Forty influenza virus samples were isolated from 89 nasopharyngeal swabs obtained from patients with influenza-like illness.

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Understanding the infant host response to measles vaccination is important because of their increased mortality from measles and the need to provide effective protection during the first year of life. Measles-specific T and B-cell responses are lower in infants after measles vaccination than in adults. To define potential mechanisms, we investigated age-related differences in measles-specific T-cell proliferation, CD40-L expression, and IFN-gamma production after measles immunization, and the effects of rhIL-12 and rhIL-15 on these responses.

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Article Synopsis
  • Four noninstitutionalized epilepsy patients, aged 4 months to 51 years, developed severe vitamin D deficiency due to long-term use of antiepileptic medications.
  • Symptoms included increased seizure frequency, status epilepticus, muscle spasms, and bone-related issues like fractures and osteomalacia.
  • The findings highlight the importance of regularly screening epilepsy patients on chronic antiepileptic drugs for vitamin D and calcium deficiencies.
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