Israel Active

Israel’s MyBiotics (see previously) is to partner Hadasit - the technology transfer arm of Hadassah Medical Center, to identify gut microbiome-based cancer therapies. They will study up to 100 melanoma patients treated with PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered a potential treatment for the aggressive brain cancer Glioblastoma. Over-secretion of the protein P-Selectin (SELP) boosts tumor growth. Inhibiting SELP slowed growth and stopped cancer cells migrating to the brain.

Researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with UK colleagues, have found that melanocortin 4 (MC4) receptor is the master switch for hunger in the brain. It is normally “on” (“I feel full”) until energy levels drop. Its discovery can help develop anti-obesity medications.

Unvaccinated children of Covid-19 vaccinated parents are far less likely to contract the virus. Researchers at Israel’s Technion and health company Maccabi used data from 223 Israeli communities to show each 20% increase in parental vaccination halves the incidence of child infection.

There is a complex relationship between bacteria and cancer (reported previously). Now, scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have discovered that bacteria inside cancer cells can provoke an immune reaction against the tumor, which chemotherapy can further exploit.

Israel’s BrainsWay (reported previously) is now using its transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) technology to treat patients suffering with depression due to Covid. It is focusing on those struggling with recovery, who have lost loved ones, in financial difficulties etc.

Ben Gurion University scientists studying naturally occurring ionizing radiation in the US, discovered that, contrary to expectations, higher levels of radiation lead to lower levels of many solid cancers. Levels of other cancers were not influenced by background radiation levels.

Israel’s “R” factor – the average number of people that one person infects with the SARS-Cov-2 virus – has fallen to just over 0.5 and less than 1% of tests are returning positive. Israel has no “red” (high infection rate) cities for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Israel’s Revitalvision has developed vision training software to improve eyesight in adult amblyopia, eye diseases and vision impairments. The FDA-approved therapy uses Gabor patches with a patented stimulation technique to stimulate the visual cortex and create new neural connections.

When United Hatzalah volunteer medic Alan Malka saved a 30-year-old man who suffered a heart attack in Petah Tikva, he recognized that he saved the same man two months previously. Resuscitation was much quicker this time, and he now should get treatment to prevent a further incident.