Israel Active

When 1,000 apparently healthy Israelis of a median age of 48 were screened at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center for 11 of the most common cancers, 2.4 percent (24) were diagnosed at an early stage with malignancies and treated successfully.

Of 115 smokers, 84% of those receiving Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) stopped smoking permanently at the end of the 6-month trial. 36% were still not smoking after the six-month post-treatment monitoring period.

The European Commission has chosen the Human Brain Project as one of its flagship projects. Participating from Israel is a team of eight scientists from the Hebrew University, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and Tel Aviv University.

Israeli start-up SensoGo has developed a device that, when strapped to a patient’s leg, performs medical gait analysis. It records and uploads data about factors such as the patient’s gait, speed, and style of walking. Doctors can diagnose a patient more quickly and efficiently than from current video methods.

Britain’s Lord Professor Robert Winston gave a lecture entitled ‘Manipulating Reproduction’ at Haifa University’s January conference on regenerative medicine. Attendees included British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould, plus leading British and Israeli scientists.

Cytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection (IMSI), developed by Benjamin Bartoov of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, is bringing a hope to childless couples in India’s capital city.

British Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership (BIRAX) will grant NIS 25 million over five years for seven joint Israel-UK stem cell research programs. Stem cells have unique reproductive, renewal, and regenerative capabilities for organs.

Doctors at Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem have discovered the reason for, and a medication to cure, Peripheral neuropathy – a genetic brain disease that causes paralysis in children. Three infants suffering from the disease are already showing signs of improvement.

An Agili-C implant from Israel’s CartiHeal has repaired the cartilage of a 47-year-old Slovenian former athlete whose knee cartilage was damaged due to a volleyball injury over seven years ago. Six months after receiving the Agili-C implant, the patient was on the ski slopes. A year from his surgery, he completed a 180 km cycling marathon.

Researchers at Israel’s Schneider Children's hospital and in Germany have identified mutations in genes EIF2S3 and UBE3B as responsible for the development of genetic mental retardation. The discovery improves the pre-natal diagnostic tool for prevention of genetic diseases.