Israel Ministry of Health

About: Israel Ministry of Health is a government organization based out in Jerusalem, Israel. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 1633 authors who have published 2108 publications receiving 65387 citations.

Asymmetric Crying Facies and Associated Congenital Anomalies: Prospective Study and Review of the Literature:

Abstract: Congenital asymmetric crying facies, a minor congenital anomaly due to absence or hypoplasia of the depressor anguli oris muscle on one side of the mouth, is associated at times with major congenital anomalies, most commonly in the cardiovascular system. In a prospective study of 5532 infants born at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Israel, during 12 months (January to December 1998), 17 infants (an incidence of 0.31%) had asymmetric crying facies. One of the affected infants had ventricular septal defect and another infant had VATER (vertebral defects, imperforate anus, tracheoesophageal fistula, and radial and renal dysplasia) syndrome. No noxious obstetric perinatal factors could be identified. Family history was unremarkable in all cases. Diagnostic work-up performed in all of the affected infants failed to reveal an additional congenital malformation. Asymmetric crying facies is a minor isolated finding in most of the cases; however, a thorough search for other congenital malformations, especially of the cardiovascular system, should be performed.

Studying the association between air pollution and lung cancer incidence in a large metropolitan area using a kernel density function

Abstract: In the absence of patient-specific data, composite level data are often used in epidemiological studies. However, since individual exposure levels cannot accurately be inferred from aggregate data, such an approach may lead to erroneous estimates of health effects of potential environmental risk factors. In the present study, we attempt to address this information-loss problem by using the “kernel density function”, which estimates the intensity of events across a surface, by calculating the overall number of cases situated within a given search radius from a target point. The present paper illustrates the use of this analytical technique for a study of association between the geographical distributions of lung cancer cases and SO2 air pollution estimates in the Greater Haifa Metropolitan Area (GHMA). In the analysis, the results obtained by kernel smoothing are contrasted with those obtained by areal aggregation techniques more commonly used in empirical studies.

Raynaud's Phenomenon as a Manifestation of Parvovirus B19 Infection: Case Reports and Review of Parvovirus B19 Rheumatic and Vasculitic Syndromes

Abstract: Infection with human parvovirus B19 is manifested as erythema infectiosum, transient aplastic crisis, or hydrops fetalis. Rheumatic manifestations include arthropathy and various vasculitic syndromes. Isolated Raynaud's phenomenon due to parvovirus B19 has never been described. We report on 2 previously healthy sisters with new-onset Raynaud's phenomenon accompanied by severe generalized polyarthralgia. A full workup was negative, except serology for parvovirus B19, which was positive. All symptoms gradually subsided within 3-5 months, and no recurrence has been noted during the 3 years since onset. We review all the studies in the English-language literature on parvovirus B19-induced rheumatic and vasculitic syndromes. We hypothesize that the pathogenesis of Raynaud's phenomenon in our patients involved immune-mediated endothelial damage leading to platelet activation and vasoconstriction. We recommend that in cases of unexplained Raynaud's phenomenon, serology for parvovirus B19 be included in the evaluation.