Daniel Aharon Vardy

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis may have a severe impact on patients' quality of life (QOL) in several ways, an impact mediated by the mental or physical difficulties they have to deal with during the course of the disease and the various treatment regimens. In addition, psoriatic patients often suffer from experiences of stigmatization (EOS) related to the disease.

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to test the hypotheses that psoriasis patients report higher levels of stigmatization than a ...

BACKGROUND: Previous reports have shown an association between inflammatory diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis and the metabolic syndrome. Recent data demonstrate that psoriasis is an inflammatory disease, suggesting that psoriasis may be one of the components of the metabolic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between psoriasis and the metabolic syndrome.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed utilizing the database of the Clalit ...

BACKGROUND: Previous reports have shown an association between psoriasis and the metabolic syndrome, but there are only a few studies on the association between psoriasis and diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: To study the association between psoriasis and diabetes.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed utilizing the database of Clalit Health Services (CHS). Patients who were diagnosed with psoriasis were compared with CHS enrolees without psoriasis regarding the prevalence of diabetes. ...

Autocrine activation of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor on keratinocytes has been recognized as an important growth regulatory mechanism involved in epithelial homeostasis, and, possibly, hyperproliferative diseases. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and insulin have been shown to be paracrine keratinocyte mitogens that bind to the type I IGF receptor which is expressed on actively proliferating keratinocytes in situ. In this report, we demonstrate that IGF-1/insulin induced ...

Monilethrix is a structural defect of the hair shaft usually inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion and caused by mutations in the hHb1, hHb3, and hHb6 keratin genes. Autosomal recessive inheritance in this disease has been sporadically reported. We encountered 12 Jewish families from Iraq, Iran, and Morocco with microscopic findings of monilethrix, but with no evidence of vertical transmission. Since no mutations were found in these three hair keratin genes, we examined nine ...

BACKGROUND: Tinea pedis is a common infection in soldiers. However, prevalence and risk factors for tinea pedis in soldiers were investigated in only a few studies.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors for tinea pedis in Israeli soldiers.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study including interviews, clinical skin examination and mycological tests was performed in Israeli soldiers. The presence of tinea pedis was assessed using the Athlete's Foot Severity Index (AFSI), a ...

We investigated the association between prescribing antimicrobial agents and antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae among children with acute otitis media in southern Israel. During a 6-year period, all prescriptions of a sample of approximately 20% of Jewish and Bedouin children <5 years of age were recorded and all pneumococcal isolates from middle ear fluid were collected. Although antimicrobial drug use was significantly higher in Bedouin children, the proportion of S. ...

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether reducing antibiotic prescriptions can reduce rates of resistance once resistance becomes prevalent. We attempted to determine whether reduced antibiotic consumption, which is observed yearly in children during the warm season, is associated with a reduction in antibiotic resistance in pneumococcal acute otitis media (AOM).

METHODS: Antibiotic prescriptions and resistance were measured prospectively during 1999-2003 in 2 demographically distinct ...

INTRODUCTION: Nonattendance for otolaryngology appointments disrupts the management of medical care and leads to ineffective use of resources. The determinants of nonattendance in pediatric otolaryngology patients have not been well documented.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate health provider determinants of nonattendance in pediatric otolaryngology patients.

STUDY DESIGN: We assessed the effects of waiting time for an appointment and the timing of the appointment (during the day, week, and ...

BACKGROUND: The objective of the study was to evaluate whether the increase in antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage was associated with antibiotic use in the community in children in Southern Israel.

METHODS: All the prescriptions given to Bedouin children <5 years old enlisted in 2 sentinel primary pediatric clinics treating approximately 20% of the Bedouin pediatric population of this age range were recorded, from 1998 to 2005. Nasopharyngeal pneumococcal isolates ...

Nonattendance for dermatology appointments disrupts the management of medical delivery and leads to inefficient allocation of resources and lost revenue. The factors that determine nonattendance in pediatric dermatology patients have not been well documented. We investigated health provider factors for nonattendance in pediatric dermatology patients. We assessed the effects of waiting time for an appointment and the timing of the appointment (during the day, week, and year) on ...