Israel Active

A covert operation has ensured that Yehia (born with multiple heart defects) is the first Afghan to have been treated by Israel’s Save a Child’s Heart organization, joining over 4,000 children from over 50 other countries who have been saved by SACH.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University and in the Netherlands have developed a breakthrough material that can be “morphed” into any shape.  The programmable metamaterial could be ideal for prostheses or wearable technology in which a close fit with the body is important.  

Israel’s POP Medical has obtained US FDA approval for the marketing of its medical device for treatment of pelvic floor prolapse. 20% of the women in the world suffer from this condition at any given moment, and 30% at some time in their lives.

Israeli startup VRPhysio matches virtual reality and physiotherapy to help patients exercise and speed up recovery.  The system includes a headset, a mobile app, weights and body sensors to monitor body movement and a set of virtual reality games that aim to make exercising more fun.

Hadasit, the Hadassah Medical Organization’s technology transfer company, and Israel’s BioLineRx are to develop a treatment BL-1210 for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or fatty liver disease.  It modulates the immune system to reduce scarring that leads to cirrhosis.  There is currently no FDA approved treatments.

Israeli biotech Pambio is developing a treatment that prevents bleeding and subsequent damage from brain hemorrhages.  No existing treatment exists.  Pambio has just received $7 million of funding.

Researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion University are studying how to use male prawns in Africa to kill the parasitic worm that causes Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia).  The disease affects 200 million people worldwide, coming only second to Malaria in terms of the devastation it causes.

The US FDA has approved the use of the WatchPAT Sleep Apnea device from Israel’s Itamar Medical being extended to adolescents of twelve years old and above.  Previously, WatchPAT was only approved for use on those aged seventeen and above.

Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have discovered in laboratory tests that the molecule Urocortin-3 acts as a “social switch”.  High concentrations the molecule increases social interactivity, but blocking the molecule turns the subject into reclusiveness.

Very uplifting article by Paul Alster on the trials at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center of stem cell treatments for Multiple Sclerosis, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s) and potentially other brain diseases and strokes.