Israel Active

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have created a new model for assessing patients on admission to hospital. They enhanced the standard Elixhauser Comorbidity model to include test results, vital signs, and demographic data, with up to 18% better predictions of outcomes.

Israel’s FIZE Medical (see previously) has monitored over 4,000 patients at high risk of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) since its launch last year at leading hospitals in the U.S. and Israel. In 2025 it plans to expand operations in Japan and Europe and enhance its production infrastructure in Israel and Vietnam.

At Hadassah Ein Kerem, Moriel Indek gave birth to a healthy baby boy after undergoing brain surgery during her pregnancy with her third child. A non-malignant tumor close to her optic nerve was growing, requiring surgeons to urgently operate.

Nazia Matar (63) had life-threatening heart arrhythmia with no possible surgical solution. Cardiologist Prof. Mahmoud Suleiman at Haifa’s Rambam hospital detected the root cause and directed a single, high-dose of radiation at the problem tissue. Nazia is now completely cured.

Israel’s Promise Bio is researching immune-mediated disease treatment with advanced precision medicine solutions. Using mass-spectrometry data and AI analysis (called epiproteomics), it aims to identify the best medications to treat a particular patient’s autoimmune disease.

A first-in-the-world clinical trial taking place at the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem will directly test whether the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) TB vaccine (see previously) should be widely administered in the fight against Alzheimer’s.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed an research model to decode the mechanism underlying a severe and rare neurological disease. A mutation in the protein TIMM50 causes epilepsy, developmental delay, and intellectual disability. It could lead to new treatments for many diseases.

The non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) technology from Israel’s IdentifAI (see previously) can detect any of 250 hereditary genetic disorders from a maternal blood sample. It isolates and performs full genetic sequencing of fetal DNA as early as nine weeks of pregnancy.

Dozens of Jewish doctors, many planning to make Aliyah in the near future, gathered in Los Angeles for the inaugural MedEx LA fair. It follows recent MedEx events in London, Paris, Buenos Aires, and New Jersey, addressing Israel’s shortage of doctors plus easing the Aliya process for them.

The Council for Higher Education in Israel has granted approval to the independent Reichman University in Herzliya to establish a Medical School.  Eighty medical students will be enrolled in the first four-year program, which will begin in February 2025.