Israeli Remedies for a Longer Life

Israelis have the 8th longest life-expectancy in world according to the latest World Health Organization figures.  Israeli medical treatments and devices are extending lives all over the world.  Here are some of the recent Israeli news items relating just to the areas of cancer, cardiology, neuroscience and diabetes.

I am confident that most readers in their lifetimes will see an end to the deadly effect of the majority of today’s cancers and can be proud that Israeli scientists will be major contributors to this achievement. For example, the UK’s National Health Service just has approved the funding of patients receiving the pioneering melanoma (skin cancer) treatment developed by Professor Jacob Schachter of the Sheba hospital in Tel Hashomer.   Meanwhile in the States, surgeons at Mercy Medical Center at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, have reported that MarginProbe from Israel’s Dune Medical has reduced the number of repeat breast-cancer operations by 75%.  And many aggressive brain tumors can now be cured using Novocure’s electrode treatment, invented by Israeli Professor Yoram Palti.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL-3JkQOsPg

Leukemia’s days are numbered thanks to pipeline treatments such as Astarabine from Israel’s BioSight.and BL-8040 from Israel’s Bioline Rx.  And Israel’s Gamida Cell reported good results from US trials of its NiCord blood cancer treatment.  Finally, Weizmann Institute’s groundbreaking prostate cancer treatment has now been approved by Israel’s Ministry of Health and is being administered to patients at Beilinson Hospital.

But prevention is better than cure, so I was pleased to read that researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Israel’s Technion Institute have developed enhanced micro-emulsion liquids that produce a powerful antioxidant anti-cancer protection protein called Nrf2.

It warms my heart to read that so many cardiology treatments and innovations have been developed by Israelis. UK medical journal The Lancet reported the first one-hour implants of the interatrial shunts from Israel’s V-Wave administered into 10 Canadian patients suffering poor left ventricular function, who were then discharged home next morning.  Surgeons performing a multicenter clinical trial of the laser system and unique catheters from Israel’s Eximo successfully unblocked the arteries of 20 patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) -  some of whom otherwise required bypass surgery or leg amputation.

Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have even trained cardiac cells to beat, using mechanical stimuli that do not come into contact with the cells, which could lead to development of more effective pacemakers.  At Tel Aviv University, Professor Tal Dvir unveiled his remote-controlled, bionic heart patch, which researchers say could become a revolutionary alternative to heart transplants for patients whose hearts have been damaged by heart attacks or cardiac disease. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ0bz-r8lEE 

Again, prevention of heart disease would avoid the need for the above treatments and devices, so let’s wish good luck to Israel’s Lycored for its award-winning supplement Cardiomato that lowers oxidized LDL cholesterol and reduces systolic blood pressure.  And perhaps the best news is that new Israeli Education Ministry guidelines prohibit selling or serving of sweets, snacks, and sugary or fatty foods to Israeli school and kindergarten students.  They must now be offered healthier substitutes such as low-fat spreadable cheeses, avocado, whole-wheat pasta and bread, fruit and vegetables.

In the field of Neuroscience, nearly 660,000 people have viewed the video that showed Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center surgeons curing an Israeli woman of Parkinson’s using the focused ultrasound brain surgery of Israel’s Insightec.  And the communication device for ALS and other "Locked in" patients from Israel’s EyeControl won its inventors £32,000 of funding thanks to public votes in the International on-line competition "The Venture".  Israelis should certainly have no problem sleeping thanks to Israeli startup 2breathe Technologies, which has developed a sensor and smartphone app to induce users to breathe slower, relax and fall asleep.  And Israel’s Itamar Medical has reported that 60 international hospitals have now adopted its Total Sleep Solution which treats Sleep Apnea – a known cause of heart attacks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WkmqMUIEJ8 

Diabetics will be interested to know that researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered that the gene p16 enhances insulin production and have partly reversed diabetes in lab tests.  Further down the treatment pipeline, Israeli biotech Oramed had success in the Phase IIb study of its oral insulin capsule, designed to replace injected delayed-release insulin.  Meanwhile, Israel’s Frutarom – developers of Portusana, an extract of the herb purslane - have confirmed its positive effects on blood sugar levels in adults with Type 2 Diabetes.  Finally, type 2 diabetes may be preventable, thanks to a behavioral analytics engine and risk meter developed by Israel’s Sweetch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KENZRUpeAds 

What is really astounding is that these Israeli developments (and many more) all occurred during the last 3 months.  I haven’t even got room to include the areas of fighting infections, autoimmune diseases and life-saving medical devices.  I’ll report on those on another occasion.

Wishing you good health from Israel.

Michael Ordman writes a free weekly newsletter containing positive news stories about Israel.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com and a searchable archive www.IsraelActive.com

For a free subscription, email a request to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com

Who Cares? Israel Does

It’s clear from recent anti-Israel resolutions that the United Nations doesn’t care what happens in the Middle East.  In contrast, Israel continues unfazed to perform the good deeds that a caring world really should be cheering.

Another two wounded Syrians were brought in for emergency care last week at the Baruch Padeh Medical Center in Poriya near Tiberias in Northern Israel.  One of the injured, a 17-year-old, was treated for shrapnel wounds.  Israeli doctors have cared for thousands of Syrians wounded in the endless civil war across the border.  Meanwhile, Israeli surgeons in the South of the country saved the life of Yara - a 4-year-old girl from Gaza - after doctors serving the Hamas government amputated Yara’s leg but allowed necrosis to set in.  Israeli doctors took care of the injury and fitted a prosthetic leg that meant she could walk again.

I almost choked when Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch showed that he could not care less when he mocked Israel for sending medical teams to Nepal.  I strongly urge him to read this article, from Israel’s Dr Giora Weiser, who saved many lives whilst witnessing the appalling devastation and trauma.  Fortunately the local Nepalese have been far more grateful than HRW for Israel’s care and support.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2NGEOJ_FyY

Anyone with even an ounce of care and compassion knows that Israel will go far beyond the call of duty to save innocent lives.  East Timor just became the 50th country to send child patients to Israeli charity Save A Child’s Heart, whose surgeons successfully repaired the congenital heart defect in baby Lisa.  SACH doctors have saved over 3,500 children’s lives.

Israelis care for the disadvantaged in society far more than any other country.  Where but in Israel would the government appoint a Minister for Minorities in order to oversee that pensioners, students, women and the young are sufficiently cared for.  And here are three recent features about organizations that care for specific disadvantaged sections of Israeli society.  First is the Alon Center in Kibbutz Alonim, which caters for the needs of teenagers of normal intelligence with emotional and/or behavioral issues who have been unable to successfully integrate into the regular school system.  Second is ALEH Negev that cares for the severely disabled – founded by Maj Gen Doron Almog, who gave up his army career in order to establish the village.  Finally, here is an amazing video from ESRA that highlights what the English Speaking Residents Association is doing to help the 30,000 plus Ethiopian community in my home city of Netanya.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0Z43qyS4do

Israel is well known for its innovative devices that enhance the medical care of patients and the disabled.  One of the most famous of these is the ReWalk exoskeleton that gives paraplegics the ability to walk upright.  And a newly discovered positive side effect is that users become healthier physically and mentally, as the device exercises their body and boosts their self-image.  You would expect mothers to care for their children, but in Israel this goes further.  Israel’s Debby Einatan invented the Upsee harness in 2014 because her son couldn’t walk unaided.  Thanks to her, over 6000 disabled kids can now walk tall with their parents.  The harness can even normalize the child’s hip joint and improve head control.

Care for the elderly is another Israeli priority.  Israel’s EarlySense makes sensors that detect when the vulnerable are at risk of falling from beds or chairs and has just announced a strategic cooperation agreement with Japanese giant Mitsui that will help launch the distribution of EarlySense products in Japan.  On a much larger scale, Korean giant Samsung and Israeli startup Mybitat together are to develop an innovative smart home solution aimed at helping the elderly stay safe while at home.  It combines cloud-based software, advanced sensors and behavior analytics to monitor seniors' daily routine and wellness. 

But even a low-tech solution provides adequate care for the majority of seniors.  Which is why Israeli charity Yad Sarah distributed emergency beepers to 20,000 people who live alone.  Users can contact Yad Sarah, relatives or the emergency services at any time using a button on a bracelet.

No matter how careful you are, accidents can happen, often with painful results.  Israel’s MedaSense Biometrics has developed a monitor to help in the management of pain.  It uses a finger sensor to record vital signs and a unique algorithm to measure pain mathematically.  MedaSense won the title of most innovative medical startup at the IATA Biomed exhibition in May.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeQ7KNWKzWQ

To conclude, here are two examples of the uniqueness of Israeli’s caring attitude to the more vulnerable. 

When a student’s baby started crying in one of the Organizational Behavior lectures of Professor Sydney Engelberg, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor picked up the baby, calmed it down and continued the lecture whilst holding the baby.

And finally, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport halted international flights for 30 minutes when a nest with five hatched falcons was discovered in a navigational antenna. As the worried adult birds circled overhead, the baby falcons were carefully removed and taken to the nearby Ramat Gan Safari to be raised and then returned to the wild.

Israel – where everybody cares.

Michael Ordman writes a free weekly newsletter containing positive news stories about Israel.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

For a free subscription, email a request to michael.goodnewsisrael@gmail.com