Hebron University is a non profit, public university in the city of Hebron, West Bank. It has an undergraduate enrollment of more than ten thousand students.
Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autoinflammatory condition caused by a single-gene mutation, inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, and characterized by recurrent episodes of self-limited inflammation. Studies suggest that vitamin D levels may be lower in FMF patients, but evidence remains unclear. This study aims to assess the relationship between FMF and serum vitamin D levels. We followed PRISMA guidelines and registered the protocol in PROSPERO (CRD420261299635). We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up to December 2025 for observational studies comparing FMF patients with healthy controls. Our main outcomes were serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and C-reactive protein (CRP). We combined the data as mean differences using a random-effects model. Ten studies (563 FMF patients) were included. The pooled analysis showed a significant drop in vitamin D levels in FMF patients compared to healthy controls. However, there was high heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 89
Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is an acute neurological condition characterized by a spectrum of clinical and radiological features. It is most often associated with severe hypertension, renal dysfunction, autoimmune disease, sepsis, and exposure to cytotoxic or immunosuppressive agents. Although increasingly recognized in emergency and critical care practice, its pathophysiology remains incompletely understood and diagnostic challenges frequently delay treatment. Reported mortality ranges from 10 to 19
Background A previous trial involving patients with metastatic prostate cancer that was resistant to androgen pathway modulation (formerly referred to as castration-resistant) showed that adding talazoparib to enzalutamide significantly improved imaging-based progression-free survival and overall survival, with the greatest benefit observed in the cohort with alterations in homologous recombination repair genes. Methods In this ongoing, phase 3, double-blind trial assessing talazoparib in patients with metastatic androgen pathway modulation-sensitive [APMS] prostate cancer harboring alterations in homologous recombination repair genes, we randomly assigned patients in a 1:1 ratio to receive talazoparib at a dose of 0.5 mg plus enzalutamide at a dose of 160 mg once daily (talazoparib group) or placebo plus enzalutamide at a dose of 160 mg once daily (control group). Randomization was stratified according to disease status (new or relapsed), disease volume (high or low), and BRCA (vs. non-BRCA) mutation status. The primary end point was investigator-assessed imaging-based progression-free survival. The key secondary end point was overall survival. Results A total of 300 patients were assigned to the talazoparib group and 299 to the control group. At 3 years, progression-free survival was 77% in the talazoparib group and 56% in the control group (hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36 to 0.65; P<0.001). In this interim analysis, overall survival at 3 years was 78% in the talazoparib group and 72% in the control group (hazard ratio for death, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.56 to 1.04). Serious adverse events were reported in 42% and 32% of the patients in the talazoparib group and the control group, respectively. In the talazoparib group, the most common adverse events were anemia, fatigue, and decreased neutrophil count, and the most common event of grade 3 or higher was anemia, reported in 51% of the patients; two treatment-related deaths occurred. Conclusions Talazoparib added to enzalutamide led to significantly better imaging-based progression-free survival than placebo plus enzalutamide among patients with metastatic APMS prostate cancer harboring alterations in homologous recombination repair genes. Serious adverse events were more common with talazoparib plus enzalutamide than with placebo plus enzalutamide. (Funded by Pfizer; TALAPRO-3 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04821622.)
This study aims to evaluate the concentrations of 222Rn, determine radium content, radon exhalation rate, and estimate the annual effective dose in soil samples using CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors. Thirty-two soil samples were collected from various locations in East Jerusalem, both inside and outside the apartheid wall. Radon concentrations were measured using the can technique. The results showed that radon concentrations outside the wall ranged from 46.6 to 395.3 Bq m-3, with an average of 194.4 f 131.9 Bq m-3, while inside the wall, values ranged from 28.0 to 424.8 Bq m-3, averaging 234.4 f 135.1 Bq m-3. The average total annual effective dose was 6.7 f 4.5 mSv y-1 outside the wall and 8.1 f 4.6 mSv y-1 inside. Overall, the radon concentration levels and annual effective doses in most samples fall within the action levels recommended by the ICRP (1993) and UNSCEAR (2000). To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study conducted in the East Jerusalem area, and its findings provide a valuable reference for future research on the potential health and environmental impacts of radon in this region.
Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a globally prominent microvascular sequela of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), making effective early prevention paramount. The well-established cardiorenal benefits of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) are largely derived from studies on patients with T2DM. Clear evidence is lacking to support the use of SGLT2i as a first-line monotherapy in newly diagnosed T2DM patients who have not yet initiated other glucose-lowering or protective agents. This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by assessing the acute impact of Dapagliflozin on reducing albuminuria and correcting metabolic derangements during this critical early disease window to halt disease progression at its onset. This quasi-experimental study conducted over a 3-month intervention period, included 133 newly diagnosed T2DM patients (76 males, 57 females) with evidence of micro- or macro-albuminuria. All patients were treated with Dapagliflozin 10 mg/day, primary and secondary endpoints were assessed by cardiorenal markers (albumin-to creatinine ratio (ACR) and calculated glomerular filtration rate (GFR)), metabolic marker (HbA1c), Anthropometric parameters (BMI and blood pressure), were measured at baseline and follow-up, Paired t-tests were used for pre- and post-intervention analysis. Dapagliflozin significantly improved both metabolic and renal markers within the short follow-up period. The primary outcome, ACR, declined markedly from 108.44 mg/g to 65.79 mg/g (P < 0.001), representing a mean relative reduction of approximately 40
