Tag Archive for Medicine

| January 7, 2013
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Giving ‘Love hormone’ produces more engaged Dads

Oxytocin is a hormone that facilitates bonding between mothers & newborns and also between men & women in personal relationships.

Oxytocin, dubbed “the love hormone,” has for years been known by scientists to facilitate bonding between mothers and newborn babies and between men and women in relationships.
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But a new laboratory study led by Dr. Ruth Feldman from Bar-Ilan University and recently published in Biological Psychiatry has found that giving oxytocin to fathers increases their parental engagement, with similar effects observed in their infants.

Oxytocin is a neuropeptide that plays an important role in the formation of attachment bonds.

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Category: Innovations & Discoveries | Tags: ,
| January 4, 2013
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Obama’s grandmother treated in Israeli hospital in Equatorial Guinea

Israeli humanitarian aid groups and teams of doctors have for years been providing free and low-cost assistance to the poorer regions of Africa.

By Israel Today Staff

 

US President Barack Obama’s step-grandmother received emergency eye surgery from Israeli doctors in Equatorial Guinea last week, Israel’s Yediot Ahronot reported.

Sarah Onyango Obama is the third wife of President Obama’s Kenyan grandfather. She lives in a remote Kenyan village.

It was recently discovered that Sarah required surgery for an unspecified problem, and the nearest full-service hospital was the Israeli-operated Shalom Hospital in the Guinean capital of Malabo.

The elderly Obama was personally escorted by Guinean Health Minister Tomas Mecheba Fernandez, and after her treatment was quoted as saying, “All of Africa is talking about your [the Israeli] hospital and the fact that one doesn’t need to fly to Europe to get medical treatment.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| December 29, 2012
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Arabs from the Gulf states find solace confiding to Israeli ‘shrinks’

Why would an Arab woman in Lebanon, Qatar, or even Syria use the Internet to find an Israeli psychologist because her husband is running around with a ‘girlfriend’?

A quick Google search is enough to reveal that Dr. Rafael Richman is a psychologist based in the German Colony of Jerusalem. But many of his online patients would rather not know that.

Dr. Rafael Richman speaking online with a patient from his home in Jerusalem earlier this month.

Dr. Rafael Richman speaking online with a patient from his home in Jerusalem earlier this month. – Photo by Michal Fattal

Take, for example, the women from neighboring Arab countries who wait until the coast is clear to contact him over cyberspace and vent their frustrations about their husbands. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| December 25, 2012
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Fitting cement boots on the sperm cells

Not yet out of the lab, Hervana’s non-hormonal, non-invasive & long-acting birth control solution could be a game-changer for women, especially in developing countries.

 

The Israeli company behind a new contraceptive won a $1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and test its formulation for a safer, long-acting, non-invasive contraceptive solution, and also won second place in a startup competition at the Israel Life Sciences Biomed Conference in Tel Aviv last May.

Hervana founder Rachel Teitelbaum explaining her new contraceptive suppository to Bill Gates.

Hervana founder Rachel Teitelbaum explaining her new contraceptive suppository to Bill Gates.

The Gates Foundation is most interested in the product’s potential to provide a more accessible, cheaper and socially acceptable family planning option in developing countries, though it would be marketed in the United States and Europe as well. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries | Tags: ,
| December 20, 2012
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Dush the Clown, Helps Nepal & Gives Israel Good PR on the side

Dush the Clown is not a medical doctor but if laughter is the best medicine, then he’s a great Doctor. His work also reflex well on Israel.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

He may not be much of a doctor but the children’s faces light up when Dush The Clown shuffles onto their ward in his floppy shoes and red nose to prescribe his unique brand of medical care.

Medical clowns

Medical clowns – INN TV

Dush — alias 36-year-old Israeli David Barashi — is in Nepal to teach doctors and nurses that laughter really can be the best medicine, with the latest evidence suggesting clowning around in hospitals can boost patient care. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| December 10, 2012
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Jerusalem’s Hebrew U. may have found cure for malaria

The Israelis are proposing a new medical treatment that would interfere with mosquito’s bite, strip the parasite of its ability to fool the immune system, which could then fully defeat the infection.

By  Michael Selutin

 

Researchers at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University have successfully identified a unique biological deception used by the parasite that causes malaria and believe they can use this new-found knowledge to defeat the disease.

illustrative - IsraelToday/co.il

Over a million people around the world die from malaria each year.

Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, making it very difficult to prevent infection. Once inside the body, the parasite is able to alter red blood cells and thereby bypass the patient’s immune system. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries | Tags: ,
| November 8, 2012
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Israeli company reports development of antibody that fights Alzheimer’s symptoms

 

Israel’s NasVax reported that its testing shows that administering BBS antibody to animals reduces levels of the proteins that are associated with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

Experts estimate that just in the U.S. between 4-5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s.

By Ilan Gattegno

 

The Israeli company NasVax announced on Wednesday that testing has shown that administering the BBS antibody to animals reduces levels of the tau and amyloid beta proteins, strengthening cognitive abilities and reducing brain inflammation. Cognitive impairment and brain inflammation are typical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Testing shows that BBS antibody fights symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

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Category: Innovations & Discoveries | Tags: ,
| November 7, 2012
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View Video: A box that makes taking pills easier

 

A programmable pillbox by SmartMed is designed to increase compliance with prescription medication, & can also manage healthcare remotely.

 

According to the American Heart Association, the number one problem in treating illness today is getting people to take their medication in the right way. About half of prescription drugs are simply not taken as prescribed, and in the United States it’s estimated that 10 percent (30% in the over-65 group) of all hospital admissions result from non-compliance.

This a niche that new Israeli technology company Vaica aims to address with a programmable “smart” pillbox that can be filled by hand or preloaded at the pharmacy. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries | Tags:
| November 4, 2012
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Israel’s Top 10 ways algae boost medicine, energy & science.

 

Israel’s scientists find novel approaches to tap into the potential of this slimy plantlike organism for nutrition, fuel, & innovative medical therapies.

 

Algae come in different shapes, sizes and colors — from unicellular micro-algae to macro forms, and from red to yellow to blue to green. The plantlike organisms bloom in ponds, rivers, lakes and neglected swimming pools; the biblical prophet Jonah complained about algae enveloping his head his when he was dumped out of the boat at sea.

Israeli innovation is turning algae into a range of vital new products. Photo by www.shutterstock.com

Israeli innovation is turning algae into a range of vital new products. – Photo by www.shutterstock.com

 

But while algae can be a pest to prophets and pool cleaners, thanks to Israeli innovation algae are forming the basis of next-generation biofuels, medical therapies and sustainable vegan-based vitamins. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries | Tags: , , , ,
| November 3, 2012
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Israel expanding its medical marijuana industry

The number of Israelis who have official gov’t permission to consume marijuana increasing dramatically. ‘When people see how suffering people are benefiting, I’m sure everyone will get behind it,’ Minister Edelstein says.

Holocaust survivor: It’s helping me cope

By the Associated Press

Moshe Rute survived the Holocaust by hiding in a barn full of chickens. He nearly lost the use of his hands after a stroke two years ago. He became debilitated by recurring nightmares of his childhood following his wife’s death last year.

Illustrative – Photo: Shutterstock

“But after I found this, everything has been better,” said the 80-year-old, as he gingerly packed a pipe with marijuana. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News | Tags: ,
| October 30, 2012
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Experts: 14% of Israelis suffer from clinical depression

A 1/4 of women & an 1/8 of men will suffer from at least a single episode of depression during their lifetimes.

 

Fourteen percent of Israelis, as well as 14% of the world’s total population, suffer from clinical depression, but many do not seek professional help, according to experts organizing World Anxiety and Depression Awareness Month in November.

Various pills – Photo: Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters


The condition, which can be treated successfully with medication and psychological or psychiatric support, is the most common mental condition in the world.

The prevalence is higher among women than men: a quarter of women and an eighth of men will suffer from at least one episode of depression during their lifetimes. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| October 28, 2012
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FDA approves Israel’s Teva leukemia drug

Soon to be available for prescribing, Synribo has gained FDA approval for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia in adults.

By Globes’ correspondent

 

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) has obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Synribo for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia in adults. The will drug will soon be available for prescribing.

The World’s Generic Pharmaceuticals Leader – Photo: Teva web page

Synribo is an injectable drug for the treatment of chronic phase or accelerated phase of chronic myeloid leukemia in adults who have resistance and/or intolerance to two or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries | Tags:
| September 30, 2012
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To Save Her Baby, Gaza Mom Goes to Israeli Hospital

A Gaza mother accepts doctors’ advice & took her fourth to Israel after losing first 3 babies to rare birth defects in Egyptian hospitals.

By Chana Ya’ar

 

A Palestinian Authority mother from Gaza is home with a healthy baby thanks to Israeli doctors in Kfar Sava, after a complicated surgery.

After losing three babies to rare birth defects at Egyptian hospitals, Jian Abu Agram, 31, was faced with a difficult decision last year after another child was born last April with the same condition.

After speaking with her doctors, Agram took their advice and traveled through the Erez crossing with her infant daughter to Israel, where doctors at Meir Hospital performed intestinal surgery on the little girl. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| September 23, 2012
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Israel is Revolutionizing Liver Disease Treatment

Israeli scientists are developing a revolutionary treatment for liver disease.

Reported by Joseph Sherman

 

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a  “silent” liver disease which affects two to five percent of Americans – approximately six to fifteen million people.  Another ten to twenty percent of Americans, thirteen to twenty three million people, have fat in their livers but have not yet developed NASH.  Tens of millions of people around the world also are at risk of suffering from NASH.

Dr. Rachamim at NasVax’s lab in Ness Ziona, Israel

The US National Institutes of Health explains:  ”It resembles alcoholic liver disease, but occurs in people who drink little or no alcohol.  Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries | Tags:
| July 27, 2012
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Campus land designated for Galilee Medical Faculty

Government committee approves allocation of 14 hectares in Safed for medical facility set to be completed in 6 years.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH

Ten hectares (about 25 acres) of state land on the southeastern edge of Safed have been set aside for the permanent campus of the Galilee Faculty of Medicine.
Projected image of future Galilee Medical Faculty

Projected image of future Galilee Medical Faculty – Photo: Courtesy BIU

A government ministerial committee approved the request this week by the faculty – which is owned and run by Bar-Ilan University.

BIU director-general Haim Glick reported that an additional 4 hectares will be allocated later for the campus, which is being constructed overlooking Lake Kinneret and is due to be completed in six years. Continue Reading »

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