Israel Active

Israel’s TruLeaf Medical (see previously) successfully implanted its RoseDoc docking device in two patients in India. It is the first step in a two-stage catheter-based procedure to replace faulty tricuspid and mitral valves, without open-heart surgery.

Researchers from Israel’s Ben Gurion University and in Harvard and Leipzog, have uncovered innovative biological evidence that diet can directly influence brain aging. The Good Mediterranean Diet reduced proteins Galectin-9 and Decorin, which were very high in degenerated brain ages.

Scientists from Tel Aviv University have introduced an innovative gene therapy method to treat impairments in hearing and balance caused by inner ear dysfunction. The research is featured in the EMBO Molecular Medicine magazine and highlighted on its cover.

Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a targeted method of delivering locked nucleic acids (LNAs) using lipid nanoparticles, achieving therapeutic effect against inflammatory bowel disease in preclinical models - without side effects. It could also be used for heart diseases, and Parkinson’s.

Prof. Abd Al-Roof Higazi of Hadassah Medical Center has developed ClearPlasma, a device that removes clot-dissolving proteins from donated plasma to quickly stop bleeding, His startup Plas-Free is now marketing ClearPlasma in Israel. Blood loss is the leading cause of death in under-45s.   

Israel’s NeuroKaire (previously Genetika+ see ) has launched BrightKaire, the world’s first blood test to personalize depression treatment. It uses AI and stem cell tech to match patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) to effective medications. Approved in US and Israel.

Members and supporters of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, pledged $23 million for Hadassah Medical Organization, its Jerusalem medical center, as well as programs in Israel and the US. It includes $5 million for a neurorehabilitation center and $3 million for IVF.

Scientists from Israel’s Weizmann Institute, and Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, have discovered the cause of cachexia – deadly weight loss responsible for roughly one-third of global cancer deaths. Targeted blockade of the right vagus nerve could prevent onset of cachexia.

Israel’s MediWound (see previously) has successfully completed a Phase III trial that shows its EscharEx topical, non-surgical treatment to wound bed preparation ensures a much quicker recovery for venous leg ulcers. Trials on diabetic foot ulcers are being planned.

Surgeons at Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center performed Israel's first-ever minimally invasive brain surgery through the eye socket. Surgeons successfully removed a rare skull base tumor without the need to open the skull.