Israel Active

Israel’s Teva has launched a generic version of Tracleer tablets in the US. The treatment allows sufferers of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) to exercise better and slows progression of the disease.  PAH is high blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs.

Ezer Mizion’s data processor found she was a DNA match on the Israeli NGO’s bone marrow registry for a woman suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). She flew halfway around the world to donate some of her stem cells. She tells both her story, and of those still needing a transplant.

Israel’s Transseptal Solutions announced the first TSP Crosser transseptal puncture procedure in the US. Transseptal’s innovative device helps surgeons to insert diagnostic and therapeutic devices into the left atrium with control, speed and precision. It is FDA and CE approved.

According to the BBC, the CAR-T cancer therapy, (invented by Professor Zelig Eshhar of Israel’s Weizmann Institute) is curing 40% of UK lymphoma patients who were otherwise untreatable and terminal.  Amazing case stories - but doesn’t mention Israel of course!

An Israeli boy suffering from solar urticaria (an allergy to light) has been saved by doctors at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center. They inject him every three weeks with omalizumab, previously only prescribed to adults with severe asthma. He can now enjoy Israeli sunshine again.

Researchers at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University have found that chronic stress causes bacteria in the gut to become more “violent”. In response, the immune system kicks in and can increase the risk of autoimmune disease in susceptible individuals.  

Scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University and in Los Angeles have used patient-specific stem cells to create a personalized model of the human blood brain-barrier. This model can potentially predict which brain disease treatments will work best for an individual patient.

Over 100 religious women students from Jerusalem College of Technology / Machon Tal conducted a 44-hour hackathon developing solutions to various challenges. The winning team designed a wireless oxygen saturation monitor for infants. Click to see some great photos.

The number of successful fertility treatments in Israel continues to rise. Details presented to the Israel Fertility Association conference also showed that technology improvements had reduced the incidence of IVF twins. Israeli women can receive public funds for IVF up to age 45.

I reported previously on Israeli startup DayTwo which provides personalized nutrition suggestions based on your microbiome (gut bacteria). DayTwo has just raised $31 million for expansion in Europe and Asia, where it can help reduce diabetes and other metabolic diseases.