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I’ve been absent from the blog scene for around seven weeks due to illness – exactly the same amount of time as between the Jewish festival of Passover and the upcoming festival of Shavuot (Pentecost). During those seven weeks I just about managed to keep track of the recent accomplishments of the Jewish State. And Israel’s advances with medical treatments during the past seven weeks have been simply amazing.–
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Full heart transplants are still very risky, and many Israeli innovations reduce their necessity. Israel’s V Wave has developed an implant-able shunt – a device that treats congestive heart failure patients by reducing pressure on the muscle controlling the blood flow between the heart chambers. The first patient to receive the shunt is already experiencing an improved condition. Meanwhile, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered that the protein Erbin can help prevent the irreversible damage to the heart when it attempts to enlarge itself in the final stage before heart failure.
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There was positive news in the past seven weeks for sufferers of three types of brain diseases. Tel Aviv University researchers discovered a protein that reverses some of the damage caused by Alzheimer’s. Ben-Gurion University scientists have developed a treatment using Losartan (marketed as Cozaar) that reduces seizures significantly in epilepsy sufferers. And multiple sclerosis sufferers who experience fatigue (common with the illness) may soon benefit from the vitamin D analog synthesized by Dr Anat Achiron of Israel’s Sheba Medical Center in Tel-Hashomer.
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Seven weeks has seen many breakthroughs in the understanding of the genetic causes of disease. Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) have demonstrated the molecular basis of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Other HUJ geneticists have identified the DNA on/off switch that explains why different species of animals can have so many identical genes. Tel Aviv University scientists have pinpointed the genetic regulator “switch” that was corrupted by the drug thalidomide and caused so many deaths and deformities in babies 57 years ago. Scientists at Israel’s Bar Ilan University have identified the gene that controls production of probiotic bacteria in the gut that protects against ulcerative colitis.
