Israel Active

In my 12th Feb newsletter I reported a method developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for training blind persons to "see sounds" through the use of a sensory substitution device (SSD). Now, eight congenitally blind participants using the system are actually able to "read" an eye chart.

Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a peptide, which protects dopamine-producing neurons in sufferers of Parkinson’s disease. The peptide can be delivered easily by daily injections or absorbed into the skin through an adhesive patch.

There is no single gene responsible for autism, however Hebrew University scientists had discovered several genetic mutations, all located in specific functional groups. This could pave the way for large-scale genetic scans that allow for early diagnosis and targeted medication.

Israel’s Sialo Technology has received Europe’s CE mark for its unique Dynamic Implant Valve Approach or DIVA. It is the first solution ever to allow the dentist to perform complex surgical procedures, such as a closed sinus elevation, via the implant in a minimal invasive manner simultaneously with the implant insertion.

The new MRI unit at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek hospital offers a level of advanced medical imaging not available in any other hospital in Israel. A soldier, seriously injured in the tragic collapse the Mount Herzl stage, underwent surgery expertly dictated by images produced in the MRI Unit.

Oded Stern, 36, has a rare and incurable disease ? Late Onset Tay-Sachs. Oded’s father runs the Endocrinology Institute at Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center and has been overseeing a unique research effort aimed at finding a drug to halt the disease’s progression and save his son’s life.

This is a “must read”. Dr. Uri Segol, at the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, removed a toothbrush from the stomach of a 24-year old woman after she accidentally swallowed it. Following a CT scan, Dr Segol used a diagnostic endoscope to inch the toothbrush up the woman’s esophagus, into her throat and out of her mouth, to a standing ovation from hospital staff.

Israeli oncology treatment developer cCam Medical Ltd has developed CM-10, an immune-modulating antibody, whose anticancer effect has been demonstrated in multiple pre-clinical tests. cCam has just raised $3million to fund further trials.

As medical costs continue to rise in the United States, both those seeking treatment and the companies that insure them are feverishly looking for ways to cut costs. One of those ways is to “export” treatment — to send patients abroad to countries where treatment is cheaper. Among those destinations is Israel, with some 30,000 patients coming here annually to take advantage of treatments.

Two months after a second bone marrow transplant failed, surgeons at Hadassah hospital gave PLX stem cells from Israel’s Pluristem to a 7-year old Romanian girl. After 10 days, blood levels improved and nine months later she is to be discharged from hospital and will return with her mother to Romania. This is a major breakthrough.