Publications by authors named "Srour M"

Article Synopsis
  • - This study researched the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D3 supplementation on the nutritional status of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in Gaza, aiming to tackle cancer-related malnutrition.
  • - 88 women were randomly divided into four groups: omega-3, vitamin D, a combination of both, and a control group; the supplements were given for nine weeks while various health measures were taken.
  • - Results showed that the combined omega-3 and vitamin D group had significant improvements in nutritional scores, body weight, BMI, blood albumin levels, and protein intake when compared to the other groups.
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Introduction: The general-purpose rating scales used by clinical pharmacists to rate their activities have not been extensively studied in specialist care units. This study aims to describe drug-related problems (DRPs) and pharmacist interventions (PIs) in a French hematopoietic cell therapy (HCT) unit and to evaluate the PIs' likely clinical, economic, and organizational impacts.

Methods: We retrospectively assessed all DRPs reported and all PIs issued between December 2018 and December 2021.

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Article Synopsis
  • * 88 participants were randomly assigned to four groups: omega-3, vitamin D, a combination of both, and a control group, receiving respective supplementations for 9 weeks.
  • * Results showed that the combined omega-3 and vitamin D group significantly improved overall health status, functional scores, and reduced fatigue and inflammatory markers when compared to the other groups.
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Heterogeneous approaches exist in regard to the management of disease-related co-morbidities in potential allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) candidates with myelofibrosis (MF). The EBMT Chronic Malignancies Working Party launched an electronic survey to evaluate how MF-specific comorbidities are approached and whether they ultimately affect the decision to transplant. A total of 41/63 (65%) Centers, all of whom were experienced in the management of MF allo-HCT, responded.

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  • Recent studies suggest that oligodendrocyte lineage cells show varying functional and molecular characteristics during development and in diseases, notably multiple sclerosis, where grey matter lesions undergo more remyelination than white matter lesions.* -
  • Research comparing progenitor cells and mature oligodendrocytes from grey and white matter revealed that grey matter cells were better at ensheathing synthetic nanofibers and were more vulnerable to metabolic injury, indicating unique molecular profiles between the two types.* -
  • RNA sequencing demonstrated that differences in gene expression are more pronounced between cell types than regions, with grey matter cells showing higher levels of genes important for myelination, while both cell types exhibited up-regulated genes related to stress and injury response.*
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The axon guidance cue netrin-1 signals through its receptor DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) to attract commissural axons to the midline. Variants in DCC are frequently associated with congenital mirror movements (CMMs). A CMM-associated variant in the cytoplasmic tail of DCC is located in a conserved motif predicted to bind to a regulator of actin dynamics called the WAVE (Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein-family verprolin homologous protein) regulatory complex (WRC).

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  • Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) pose significant health risks for immunocompromised patients, particularly those undergoing treatment for haematological malignancies, due to weakened immune systems from chemotherapy and stem-cell transplants.
  • The paper focuses on specific STIs such as Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, herpes, HPV, and hepatitis B, highlighting their increased incidence and severity in patients with blood cancers.
  • The authors call for more comprehensive research to better understand and address the impact of STIs on these patients, while also discussing necessary protective measures and the importance of vaccines.
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  • Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare disorder linked with neurological and heart issues, particularly the ATP1A3-D801N variant, which causes a shorter QT interval and arrhythmia risks.
  • A study at Duke University evaluated heart rate (HR) and QT intervals in individuals with AHC, revealing that those with the variant had less QT prolongation at lower HR compared to healthy controls.
  • The findings suggest that individuals with ATP1A3-D801N show abnormal heart rhythms, indicating a need for closer monitoring and intervention for potential heart issues.
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  • HSCT is the only curative treatment for patients with short telomere syndromes and severe bone marrow failure or myeloid malignancies, but the effectiveness is influenced by their sensitivity to the conditioning regimen.
  • In a study involving adults and adolescents treated with an alemtuzumab-based regimen, outcomes showed a low 2-year graft rejection-free survival (GRFS) rate for those with myeloid malignancies (20%) compared to other patients (57%).
  • While the overall 2-year overall survival (OS) was quite favorable at 66%, the findings suggest that alternative treatment strategies may be necessary for patients with myeloid malignancies.
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Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T cell) therapy has become a standard-of-care for several hematological and a promising treatment for solid malignancies or for selected non-malignant autoimmune disorders. Hematological complications following this treatment are very common with the majority of patients experiencing at least one cytopenia after CAR-T cell injections. The management of these adverse events is not standardized and represents an area of active research and unmet clinical needs.

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  • Metformin has the potential to improve the myelination abilities of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in aged rats and may aid recovery in children with brain injuries from radiation.
  • In experiments, human progenitor cells from both adults and children showed greater ensheathment capacity than mature oligodendrocytes, though metformin enhanced this capacity in adult cells while reducing it in pediatric cells.
  • The study revealed that metformin caused distinct changes in gene expression based on age, with adult cells benefiting in pathways related to growth and lipid synthesis, whereas pediatric cells experienced more down-regulation affecting their morphology and development.
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CLCN4-related disorder is a rare X-linked neurodevelopmental condition with a pathogenic mechanism yet to be elucidated. CLCN4 encodes the vesicular 2Cl/H exchanger ClC-4, and CLCN4 pathogenic variants frequently result in altered ClC-4 transport activity. The precise cellular and molecular function of ClC-4 remains unknown; however, together with ClC-3, ClC-4 is thought to have a role in the ion homeostasis of endosomes and intracellular trafficking.

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Ion channels mediate voltage fluxes or action potentials that are central to the functioning of excitable cells such as neurons. The KCNB family of voltage-gated potassium channels (Kv) consists of two members (KCNB1 and KCNB2) encoded by KCNB1 and KCNB2, respectively. These channels are major contributors to delayed rectifier potassium currents arising from the neuronal soma which modulate overall excitability of neurons.

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  • The study investigates the role of Torque teno virus (TTV) load as a marker of immunosuppression in patients after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT).
  • Researchers analyzed TTV DNA levels in plasma samples from 70 transfusion recipients to identify factors that influence TTV load and its associations with complications and outcomes.
  • Key findings showed that higher TTV loads, especially after 90 days post-transplantation, correlated with lower overall survival and higher relapse rates, suggesting TTV load could be an important prognostic indicator.
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Oligodendrocyte (OL) injury and subsequent loss is a pathologic hallmark of multiple sclerosis (MS). Stress granules (SGs) are membrane-less organelles containing mRNAs stalled in translation and considered as participants of the cellular response to stress. Here we show SGs in OLs in active and inactive areas of MS lesions as well as in normal-appearing white matter.

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The use of post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis is not established after reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from fully matched donors. This was a randomized, open-label, multicenter, phase 2 trial. All patients received a RIC regimen with fludarabine, intravenous busulfan for 2 days (Flu-Bu2), and a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) graft from a matched related or 10/10 HLA-matched unrelated donor.

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Background: Inherited thrombophilia (IT) has a complex pathophysiology and is associated with recurrent miscarriage (RM) by causing placental insufficiency and inhibiting fetal development. However, thrombophilia screening in unexplained RM cases is still questionable. This study aimed to investigate the association between the common eight IT mutations and their combinations among Palestinian women with unexplained RM.

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Purpose: Pathogenic variants of FIG4 generate enlarged lysosomes and neurological and developmental disorders. To identify additional genes regulating lysosomal volume, we carried out a genome-wide activation screen to detect suppression of enlarged lysosomes in FIG4 cells.

Methods: The CRISPR-a gene activation screen utilized sgRNAs from the promoters of protein-coding genes.

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Background: Congenital mirror movements (CMM) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by involuntary movements from one side of the body that mirror voluntary movements on the opposite side. To date, five genes have been associated with CMM, namely DCC, RAD51, NTN1, ARHGEF7, and DNAL4.

Objective: The aim of this study is to characterize the genetic landscape of CMM in a large group of 80 affected individuals.

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We evaluated the utility of genetic testing in the pre-surgical evaluation of pediatric patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. This single-center retrospective study reviewed the charts of all pediatric patients referred for epilepsy surgery evaluation over a 5-year period. We extracted and analyzed results of genetic testing as well as clinical, EEG, and neuroimaging data.

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The use of peripheral blood (PB) or bone marrow (BM) stem cells graft in haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis remains controversial. Moreover, the value of adding anti-thymoglobulin (ATG) to PTCy is unknown. A total of 1344 adult patients received an unmanipulated haploidentical transplant at 37 centers from 2012 to 2019 for hematologic malignancy.

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  • The study aimed to analyze the challenges in diagnosing a 56-year-old woman with early symptoms of late-onset retinal degeneration (L-ORD) over an eleven-year follow-up period, stressing the importance of electrophysiological tests for detecting inherited retinal diseases.
  • Initially, she was misdiagnosed with fundus albipunctatus, but after a decade, tests showed deterioration in rod and cone responses, prompting further genetic testing.
  • Ultimately, genetic results confirmed the diagnosis of L-ORD linked to a variation in the C1QTNF5 gene, highlighting the need for careful monitoring and diagnostic follow-ups in such cases.
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This case report pertains to a 70-year-old male patient with a medical history marked by atrial fibrillation, ankylosing spondylitis, and Crohn's disease. Eight years prior, the patient underwent a left radical nephrectomy due to the presence of a pigmented epithelioid angiomyolipoma (PEComa) in the kidney. Notably, pathological examination revealed an unusual subtype of PEComa characterized by Xp11 gene translocation, indicating a more aggressive clinical profile.

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