Israel Active

Psifas is the Israeli Genome project. With a budget of NIS 250 million, it aims to create a genetic database of 100,000 Israel’s citizens. The information collected from patients of the Clalit health company, already provides information that will make it possible to treat life-threatening diseases.

The brain’s NMDA receptor (NMDAR) is known to be vital for learning and memory. Now Tel Aviv University researchers have discovered that it also maintains stable brain function during environment and physiological changes. The discovery may lead to new treatments for brain diseases.

Tel Aviv University researchers have discovered a mutation of the TMEM16F protein secretes α-synuclein to enhance the spread of Parkinson’s pathology through nerve cells in the brain. Blocking or modulating TMEM16F activity may reduce α-synuclein and cure Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Shamir Medical Center in Beer Yaakov found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) can significantly alleviate PTSD symptoms, particularly for patients unresponsive to traditional therapies or medications.

Israel’s Innoventric has developed Trillium - a device to fix a leak in the tricuspid valve, one of four valves that regulate blood flow through the heart. But instead of replacing the valve, the prosthetic device is inserted into a large vein in a 10-minute procedure under conscious sedation.

Israel’s Pi-Cardia (see previously) has received US-FDA approval for its ShortCut heart valve decalcification device. ShortCut is used to remove calcium from heart valves, making them more flexible, prior to heart valve replacement (e.g. TAVR or TMVR) procedures.

Following last week’s Israeli cancer breakthrough (see ), now Weizmann Institute researchers have found an antibody (against CD84) that prevents tumors building molecular bridges from suppressing the immune system. Lab tests were successful at treating triple-negative breast cancer. :

A three-year-old boy hospitalized in Jerusalem with a severe blood cancer got a new lease on life thanks to the selflessness of Matan Amir, a 21-year-old IDF soldier fighting in Gaza who was identified as a suitable bone marrow donor for the toddler.

The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA. Both men were awarded Israel’s Wolf Prize in 2014. Ruvkun, who is Jewish, won the Dan David Prize, headquartered at Tel Aviv University, in 2011.

An international study led by Israel’s Ben-Gurion University scientists showed controlling blood sugar levels is a significant key mechanism linking diet to slower brain aging. The 300-participant study was one of the longest and largest brain MRI trials in the world.