Israel Active

The US Food and Drugs Administration has given approval for Evarrest – a biological sealant for stopping problematic bleeding during surgery. Evarrest is produced in Israel by Omrix Biopharmaceuticals – a division of US giant Johnson & Johnson.

Sgt Idan Ducach gave a blood sample to Israeli charity Ezer Mizion when he enlisted in the IDF. Later he was told he was a bone marrow match for Alex – a young American boy. Idan donated his bone marrow and one year later met a very healthy Alex in New York.

1000 graduates of the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School gathered yesterday at the opening of an alumni conference marking 60 years since the graduation of the school’s first class. Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat said that there are 32,000 medical employees in Jerusalem.

Hebrew University researchers have uncovered important details about the origins of brain diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS and Huntington’s diseases. The research could lead to new methods of preventing toxic proteins in the brain from causing damage and even death.

Israeli researchers have discovered that extracts inside the edible Oyster mushroom contain molecules that bind themselves to cancer cells and kill them.

The Israel Ministry of Health has designated the Sanford Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem as Israel’s National Laboratory for Leishmaniasis – a parasitic disease affecting an estimated 12 million people worldwide.

Israeli smartphone apps demonstrated at Tel Aviv’s (Innovations in Cardiovascular Interventions) event included Healarium – an information and incentive system, Mobile-CliniQ from Aerotel – transmitting data from sensors to hospitals, and Dario from Labstyle Innovation - a portable glucose meter for diabetics.

Israeli non-profit organization Prize4Life seeks to accelerate the discovery of treatments and a cure for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). It has set-up a database called PRO-ACT that will help develop viable Phase II and Phase III treatments for ALS.

Israel’s Advanced Inhalation Therapies (Beyond Air) is to begin two clinical trials using nitric oxide (NO) to treat infectious lung diseases. Immune systems of the young are very sensitive to viral infections. Nitric oxide gas could help toddlers and infants with pulmonary infections due to bronchiolitis.

The UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper has reported on an innovative treatment for breast cancer (and maybe other cancers) using a super-cooled needle to inject balls of ice into the tumor. At the end of the fifth paragraph they finally mention that IceCure - the company that developed the system – is Israeli.