Israel Active

For the first time in Israel, doctors at Rambam hospital used surgical robots to perform advanced pediatric surgery. Using the Rambam’s da Vinci robot they corrected congenital defects on three Israeli children. Surgeons from Boston Medical Center trained the Israeli doctors.

Dr. Ayelet Erez studied at the Technion, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Baylor College Texas and now Weizmann. Her wide experience led her to discover the link between the enzyme ASL and Nitrous Oxide, which is essential for regulating blood pressure.

Scientists at Tel Aviv and Northwestern Universities have discovered that mutations in the molecule desmoglein 1 in skin cells can disrupt the immune response and lead to allergic reactions.

Ariel Munitz of Tel Aviv University is researching a type of white blood cell called macrophages. Exposed to a certain stimulus and they’ll promote healing of cancer and fibrosis. But exposed to a different stimulus and they actually make the condition worse. You can see where this is heading.

Toddler Zion Rubenstein was diagnosed at the age of 6 months with a rare inflammation of the spinal cord that invariably leads to paralysis. A year after intravenous injections of high levels of antibodies and steroids coupled with accelerated physical therapy, Zion can now walk and climb stairs.

Students from the amazing Biodesign program of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have done it again, with a gastric sleeve to block food absorption and counter obesity. Doctors insert the sleeve down the throat and via the stomach to the duodenum, without surgery or anesthetic.

The US Food and Drug Administration has given its approval to Israel’s EndyMed for its non-invasive anti-wrinkle and rhytide treatment.

Following an agreement with a US medical services company, heart monitors from Israel’s NI Medical's will be in use at nursing homes across the United States. The Non-invasive Cardiac System (NICas) significantly reduces the number of repeated hospitalization of cardiac patients.

In Bloomberg’s latest ranking, Israel’s healthcare is only surpassed by Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. The study compared life expectancy; per capita cost of health care and cost as a percentage of GDP per capita. The UK came 14th and the USA 46th.

(Thanks to Atid-EDI) Israel’s D-Pharm Ltd has announced positive results for its treatments for human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and malaria. D-Pharm’s Membrane Active Chelators regulate metal ions in the cells that are disrupted by these parasitic-born diseases.