Israel Active

The average Hatzalah emergency response volunteer will attend to some 300 calls annually, but 58-year-old Yehuda Londner of Bnei Brak recorded an impressive 2,370 calls last year. In 29 years with Hatzalah and Magen David Adom he has responded to over 45,000 emergency calls.

The founder of Novotalk Moshe Rot describes how he suffered from stuttering since age 3. Then at age 22 he went for fluency shaping at Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital. He started up Novotalk to teach and reinforce the skill online at much less cost.

Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute have discovered that PD-1 blockers used as cancer treatments are also able to destroy the plaque in the brain that causes Alzheimer’s disease. The blockers keep the immune system working to fight disease and repair damage in the body.

Israel’s BiolineRX is to perform a Phase II clinical test combining BiolineRX’s BL-8040 with Merck’s KEYTRUDA anti-PD-1 therapy in the treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Australian, Canadian and US kids are traveling to Europe and Israel for the ApiFix non-fusion treatment of their Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (twisted spine). Israel’s ApiFix is approved in Europe and Israel and ApiFix helps parents to identify suitable spine surgeons.

Surgeons at Israel’s Beilinson hospital in Petah Tikva set an Israeli record when in 48 hours they transplanted 4 lungs and 4 livers into 7 patients. One of the liver transplants included surgery to shorten the stomach – only the eighth such operation in the world.

Israel’s CartiHeal has now implanted its Agili-C cartilage regenerator into nearly 200 damaged knees since the biotech was founded in 2009 . CartiHeal has just raised $15 million to expand trials prior to a planned European launch in 2017.

Israel has allocated NIS 80 million to extend free basic dental care to children up to age 14. Previously children received free dental care up to age 12.  

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University have devised simple computer-aided brain exercises that help individuals ignore negative stimulation. Functional MRI scans showed reduced activation in the brain region involved in negative emotions, including sadness and anxiety.

Scientists at Israel’s Technion and in Germany have discovered evidence that certain processed foods damage the intestine and weaken its resistance to bacteria, toxins and other hostile elements. This “leaky gut” syndrome increases the likelihood of developing autoimmune diseases.