Israel Active

Nefesh b’Nefesh’s Medex event held in Teaneck, NJ was a huge success. Nearly 500 medical professionals attended from 30 states and provinces in the US and Canada, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, dental hygienists, and many more. A European event is scheduled end-March.

Tel Aviv University researchers discovered a mechanism used by viruses to decide whether to kill their bacterial host. These phages monitor the health of the cell they are occupying. They also check that there are no viruses residing in nearby cells that the phages wish to occupy.

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs) are successful in 40% of cancer patients but are invasive and time-consuming. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have developed a tool that predicts the response based on the metabolic activity in the immune system cells. (See also previously)

American magazine Newsweek in together with global data company Statista has again ranked Israel’s Sheba Medical Center as the nineth best hospital in the world. Key factors were the 98% survival rate for battlefield injuries, plus Sheba’s leading role in integrated physical and mental rehabilitation.

Tel Aviv’s Reuth Rehabilitation Hospital uses virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) to rehabilitate patients after injury or debilitating illness, even PTSD. It displays a VR or AR scenario, so that the patient performs exercises while immersed in a game or other enjoyable activity or experience.

Newsweek magazine also named Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center as one of the world’s leading hospitals in oncology, cardiology, and smart technologies. It is the sixth consecutive year that Hadassah has been recognized.

The US FDA has approved the Smart Skin product from Israel’s X-trodes (see previously). The patches have embedded electrodes and can be attached anywhere on the body, to measure brain activity (EEG), heart activity (EKG), eye movements, muscular activity, and other signs.

James Leinhardt at Levitex Sleep knows how to get the best night’s sleep. It’s all about posture. Protect your spine and neck, reduce back and shoulder pain, prevent snoring, and increase lung capacity by reading his advice. His specialist mattresses and pillows can also help. James is relocating from UK to Israel.

Israel’s NeuroHelp (see previously) has developed a brain scanner that gives a one-hour warning of an upcoming epileptic seizure. It is working on a more compact device that can be worn during the day and a system called Neurofeedback that can help prevent the seizures.

The US FDA has approved SIMLANDI – a biosimilar to (and less costly than) Humira for the treatment of adult rheumatoid arthritis and many other autoimmune diseases including IBD. SIMLANDI is a product of the partnership between Israel’s Teva and the multinational Alvotech.