Federation Star - February 2018

22A Federation Star February 2018
ISRAEL & THE JEWISH WORLD
13 of the biggest health breakthroughs in Israel in 2017
A compound that disables cancer cells, an artificial cornea, the world’s first bone implant:
2017 saw major medical advances. We bring you the best.
By Nicky Blackburn, ISRAEL21c, www.israel21c.org, December 26, 2017
1. Compound kills energygenerating
system of cancer
An Israeli researcher devised a synthetic
compound to disable the enzymes
that allow cancer cells to metastasize.
When cancer cells leave the primary
tumor and spread to other organs,
they reprogram their energy-generating
system in order to survive in harsh
conditions with a shortage of nutrients
like glucose.
Prof. Uri Nir of Bar-Ilan University
identified an enzyme called FerT
Prof. Uri Nir (fourth from right) and his lab team
(photo courtesy of Bar-Ilan University)
in the energy-generating mitochondria
of metastatic cancer cells – an enzyme
normally only found in sperm cells
(which need to function outside the
body they came from). When he targeted
FerT in lab mice, the malignant
cells soon died.
Using advanced chemical and robotic
approaches, Nir’s lab team developed
a synthetic compound, E260,
which can be administered orally or by
injection, causing a complete collapse
of the entire mitochondria “power station.”
“We have treated mice with metastatic
cancer and this compound completely
cured them with no adverse or
toxic affect that we can see,” reported
Nir, adding that
normal cells were
not affected.
Phase 1 clinical
trials are
planned over the
next 18 months.
2. Personal menu
to help avoid
diabetes
In 2015, two researchers
from the
Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel
released a groundbreaking study
showing that specific foods and food
combinations affect each individual’s
blood-sugar level differently.
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That discovery was incorporated
into a made-in-Israel app, DayTwo,
which helps pre-diabetics and diabetics
who are not insulin dependent choose
dishes that can best balance their individual
blood-sugar levels. The algorithm
predicts blood-glucose response
to thousands of foods based on gut
microbiome information and other personal
parameters.
High blood sugar is linked to energy
dips, excessive hunger and weight
gain as well as increased risk of metabolic
diseases such as diabetes and
obesity.
To use the app, which went on
sale in the U.S. in 2017, users need
to answer a questionnaire about their
medical history, physical characteristics,
lifestyle and diet. A stool-sample
kit is then FedExed to the user, who
sends it on to DayTwo’s lab. There the
microbiome DNA is sequenced and the
data is plugged into an advanced machine-learning
algorithm.
In about six to eight weeks, users
receive a microbiome report and a sixmonth
plan of personalized meal recommendations
to help balance blood
sugar.
3. World’s first bone implants
In August and December, doctors at
Emek Medical Center in Afula performed
rare bone implants – one on a
man missing part of his arm bone and
the second on a man missing five centimeters
of his shinbone, both as the
result of car accidents.
Normally, the human body cannot
restore bone segments, but revolutionary
tissue-engineering technology
developed by Haifa-based Bonus Bio-
Group enables growing semi-solid live
bone tissue from the patient’s own fat
cells.
The tissue is then injected back into
the patient’s body in the expectation
that the missing bone fragment will be
regenerated in around six weeks without
any danger of implant rejection or
the complications of traditional bone
transplants.
“This surgery is truly science fiction;
it changes the entire game in orthopedics,”
said Dr. Nimrod Rozen,
head of orthopedics at Emek, who carried
out the experimental procedure.
In the future, the Bonus BioGroup
regeneration technology could be used
for a variety of bone-loss conditions,
including bone cancer, for which there
is currently no solution.
4. Artificial cornea
An early-stage Israeli ophthalmic medical
devices startup developed a revolutionary
artificial cornea implant that
holds out hope to millions of blind and
visually-impaired people.
The nanotech-based synthetic cornea
by CorNeat Vision of Ra’anana
proved successful in initial tests on animals.
The company plans human implantations
in Israel in mid-2018, and a
larger clinical trial in the United States.
According to the World Health Organization,
diseases of the cornea are
A revolutionary new artifi cial cornea could
one day restore sight to millions of people
around the world (photo via Shutterstock.com)
the second leading cause of blindness
worldwide, affecting as many as 30
million people.
“Unlike previous devices, which attempt
to integrate optics into the native
cornea, CorNeat’s implant leverages
a virtual space under the conjunctiva
that is rich with fibroblast cells, heals
quickly and provides robust long-term
integration,” said CorNeat Vision’s
Almog Aley-Raz. The surgical procedure
takes just 30 minutes.
5. Hernia surgery just got simpler
In June, ISRAEL21c reported on a
new tool developed by Via Surgical
for attaching mesh to tissue, allowing
surgeons to treat hernias with fewer
complications, less pain and faster recovery.
In the U.S. alone, some five million
people have a hernia – a protrusion of
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