Initial isolation of Candida dubliniensis from the Middle East.
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Two isolates of Candida dubliniensis were identified from a collection of 30 examined from Israel in a molecular epidemiology study. The 30 isolates were tentatively identified as Candida albicans. The new species, C. dubliniensis, is being reported from new geographic locales. These two isolates, from an Arab and a Druze patient, are the first to be reported from the Middle East. (+info)
Autosomal recessive catecholamine- or exercise-induced polymorphic ventricular tachycardia: clinical features and assignment of the disease gene to chromosome 1p13-21.
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BACKGROUND: Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PVT) is characterized by episodes of syncope, seizures, or sudden death in response to physiological or emotional stress. In 2 families with autosomal dominant inheritance, the disease gene was mapped to chromosome 1q42-43. The objectives of this study were to characterize the clinical features of the disease in a Bedouin tribe from Israel and to map the disease gene. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this Bedouin tribe, 9 children (age, 7+/-4 years) from 7 related families have died suddenly during the past decade, and 12 other children suffered from recurrent syncope and seizures starting at the age of 6+/-3 years. Parents of affected individuals were asymptomatic and were all related (first-, second-, or third-degree cousins). Segregation analysis suggested autosomal recessive inheritance. All 12 symptomatic patients and 1 asymptomatic sibling (mean age, 13+/-7 years) were found to have a relative resting bradycardia (64+/-13 bpm, versus 93+/-12 bpm in the unaffected siblings), as well as PVT induced by treadmill or isoproterenol infusion and appearing at a mean sinus rate of 110+/-10 bpm. Patients responded favorably to treatment with beta-blockers. A genome-wide search using polymorphic DNA markers mapped the disease locus to a 16-megabase interval on chromosome 1p13-21. A maximal lod score of 8.24 was obtained with D1S189 at theta=0.00. Sequencing of KCND3, a gene that encodes an I(tO) potassium channel transporter, did not reveal any significant sequence alterations. CONCLUSIONS: This unique form of autosomal recessive PVT affects young children and may be lethal if left untreated. Linkage analysis maps this disorder to chromosome 1p13-21. (+info)
A decade (1989-1998) of pediatric invasive pneumococcal disease in 2 populations residing in 1 geographic location: implications for vaccine choice.
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During 1 decade (1989-1998), data on invasive pneumococcal disease were collected prospectively to assess the burden of disease among Jewish and Bedouin children in southern Israel and the potential reduction in illness that can be achieved by using conjugate vaccines. Data on 513 children <15 years old with bacteriologically proven invasive pneumococcal disease were obtained. Among Jewish and Bedouin children <5 years old, incidence rates were 45 and 139 cases per 100,000 child-years of observation, respectively. Jewish and Bedouin children differed in clinical manifestations, seasonal patterns of disease, serotype distribution, and antibiotic susceptibility rates. The potential coverage by 7-, 9-, and 11-valent conjugate vaccines is 41%, 67%, and 71%, respectively, for Jewish children and 22%, 63%, and 65%, respectively, for Bedouin children. The 9- and 11-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have the potential to substantially decrease invasive pneumococcal disease in southern Israel. (+info)
A gene causing autosomal recessive cataract maps to the short arm of chromosome 3.
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BACKGROUND: Fourteen loci have been associated with autosomal dominant cataract, but only one with the recessive form of the disease. OBJECTIVES: To find the chromosomal location of a gene causing autosomal recessive cataract in three inbred Arab families. METHODS: A single nucleotide polymorphism-based genome-wide search, with the Effvmetrix GeneChip HuSNP genotyping array, was performed on a pooled DNA sample from six affected family members in a search for regions showing homozygosity. Using conventional microsatellite markers, regions of homozygosity were further analyzed in all the families. RESULTS: A region on chromosome 3p spanning 43 megabases showed homozygosity with 13 consecutive SNPs. Three microsatellite markers from this region yielded lod scores > 3.00. A maximal two-point lod of 4.83 was obtained with the marker D3S1298 at theta = 0.004. Haplotype analysis placed the disease gene in a 20 Mb interval between D3S1768 and D3S2409. CONCLUSIONS: A gene causing autosomal recessive cataract maps to the short arm of chromosome 3. (+info)
Trends in youth mortality in Israel, 1984-1995.
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BACKGROUND: Investigation of causes of death can help inform intervention policy aimed at reducing preventable mortality. OBJECTIVES: To assess mortality causes and trends over time and identify target groups with excessive mortality rates among Israeli youth aged 10-24, in order to formulate an intervention policy for prevention of adolescent mortality. METHODS: Mortality data for Israeli residents aged 10-24 were extracted from the Central Bureau of Statistics computerized death certificate file for the period 1984-95. Trends were evaluated by cause of death and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: The crude mortality rate among Israeli youth aged 10-24, during 1993-1995, was 39.6 per 100,000. Rates were 2.7 times higher among males, increased with age, and reached a peak among 18-21 year olds. Rates were 1.4 times higher among Arabs than among Jews. The sharp increase in mortality among Jewish males of military service age (18-21 years) was due mainly to motor vehicle crashes and suicide. Although overall mortality decreased by 9.4% from 1984-86 to 1993-95, the gap between the subgroups increased. MVC-related mortality increased over time by 100% among Arab males. The rate of completed suicide among Jewish males increased by 110%. Although injury-related mortality is lower in Israel compared with the U.S., similar demographic differentials and trends were found in both countries. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide among Jewish males of military service age, as well as MVC fatalities among Arab males, present a growing public health issue. Intervention strategies should therefore be targeted towards these subgroups in order to minimize the rates of preventable death. (+info)
Familial Mediterranean fever: prevalence, penetrance and genetic drift.
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FMF is widely distributed in populations inhabiting the Mediterranean basin. It is mainly attributed to five founder mutations (M680I, M694V, M694I, V726A, E148Q) in the MEFV gene. The frequencies and distribution of these mutations in 146 FMF patients, of Arab and Jewish descent, were compared to that observed in 1173 healthy individuals of pertinent ethnic groups. Five mutations accounted for 91% of FMF chromosomes in our patients. Mutation M694V, predominant in North African Jews, was observed in all patients other than Ashkenazi Jews; mutation V726A was prevalent among all patients other than North African Jews; mutations M694I and M680I were mainly confined to Arab patients. Overall carrier rates, for four mutations (M680I, M694V, V726A, E148Q), were extremely high in our healthy cohort composed of Ashkenazi (n=407); Moroccan (n=243); Iraqi Jews (n=205); and Muslim Arabs (n=318); calculated at 1 : 4.5; 1 : 4.7; 1 : 3.5 and 1 : 4.3 respectively. The V726A allele prevalent among Ashkenazi and Iraqi Jews and Muslim Arabs (carrier rates: 7.4, 12.8 and 7.3%, respectively) was not found among Moroccan Jews. The M694V allele detected among Moroccan and Iraqi Jews and Muslim Arabs (carrier rates 11.1, 2.9 and 0.6%, respectively) was not observed among Ashkenazim. The overall frequency of mutations V726A and E148Q in Ashkenazim, Iraqi Jews and Arabs indicates that the bulk of individuals that comply with the genetic definition of FMF remain asymptomatic. (+info)
Population group differences in trends in stroke mortality in Israel.
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In Israel, stroke is the third most common cause of death. In 1997 stroke accounted for 2905 deaths (8.1% of total), 1390 of them among men (7.5% of total; crude mortality rate of 48.3/100 000) and 1515 among women (8.6% of total; crude rate of 51.7/100 000). This report presents trends on stroke mortality by population group and estimates of morbidity in Israel. METHODS: Data on stroke mortality in Israel during 1969-1997 were obtained from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Age-specific and age-adjusted mortality rates were calculated for the 2 main population groups. Data on morbidity were obtained form the 1996/1997 National Health Survey. Hospitalization rates due to stroke are based on the national hospitalization data. RESULTS: A monotonic decrease in stroke mortality is evident in Jews during 1969-1997 in both sexes. Age-adjusted mortality rates declined by 62.5% for Jewish men and by 73.4% for Jewish women during 1969-1997. Among Arabs, there was a general decreasing trend in the mortality for both sexes during 1973-1997. The main difference in population group mortality trends was found in the group aged >/=75 years: a statistically significant decrease in mortality rates for Jews is evident, while no decrease is apparent for Arabs. On the basis of available data for 1990, an estimated 13 000 patients with stroke were hospitalized during 1997. CONCLUSIONS: During the last 25 years, age-adjusted stroke mortality in Israel has declined substantially, but the decline has been much greater among Jews than Arabs. The group aged >/=75 years shows the greatest difference in trends between Jews and Arabs. This finding may be explained by differences in risk factor distribution and case fatality rates. (+info)
The Y chromosome pool of Jews as part of the genetic landscape of the Middle East.
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A sample of 526 Y chromosomes representing six Middle Eastern populations (Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Kurdish Jews from Israel; Muslim Kurds; Muslim Arabs from Israel and the Palestinian Authority Area; and Bedouin from the Negev) was analyzed for 13 binary polymorphisms and six microsatellite loci. The investigation of the genetic relationship among three Jewish communities revealed that Kurdish and Sephardic Jews were indistinguishable from one another, whereas both differed slightly, yet significantly, from Ashkenazi Jews. The differences among Ashkenazim may be a result of low-level gene flow from European populations and/or genetic drift during isolation. Admixture between Kurdish Jews and their former Muslim host population in Kurdistan appeared to be negligible. In comparison with data available from other relevant populations in the region, Jews were found to be more closely related to groups in the north of the Fertile Crescent (Kurds, Turks, and Armenians) than to their Arab neighbors. The two haplogroups Eu 9 and Eu 10 constitute a major part of the Y chromosome pool in the analyzed sample. Our data suggest that Eu 9 originated in the northern part, and Eu 10 in the southern part of the Fertile Crescent. Genetic dating yielded estimates of the expansion of both haplogroups that cover the Neolithic period in the region. Palestinian Arabs and Bedouin differed from the other Middle Eastern populations studied here, mainly in specific high-frequency Eu 10 haplotypes not found in the non-Arab groups. These chromosomes might have been introduced through migrations from the Arabian Peninsula during the last two millennia. The present study contributes to the elucidation of the complex demographic history that shaped the present-day genetic landscape in the region. (+info)