ISRAEL – HOME OF SCIENTIFIC INNOVATIONS
September 7, 2009 by yipbop · Leave a Comment
In this essay, I will abstain from the customary political indignation in view of the latest biased Jew bashing and anti-Semitism analogous to that of the medieval and World War II events, and focus instead on the steady medical breakthroughs emanating from Israel, the home of innovation.
Although at some point, the use of gene therapy seemed to fade the radar when researchers realized just how great a distance stretched from the concept of using genes for therapy to translating that concept into clinical practice, lately, despite significant hurdles, gene therapy remains alive and steadily under very active investigation, especially by a distinguished team of investigators in Israel. This community of scientists, albeit underfunded when compared to other scientists in the U.S. and Europe, has managed to be a major driver of productivity and innovation.
One such discovery involves the use of a molecule to regenerate dying cells. What does this mean in lay terms? This outstanding clinical application gives the potential to reverse what is now irreversible, liver and kidney failure. In addition, this extraordinary molecule is being tested with great success in animal models to reverse the side-effect known as “dry mouth syndrome” or non functioning salivary glands experienced by patients suffering from cancers of the head and neck undergoing radiation. This medical breakthrough can be interpreted as sparing such patients from severe and ongoing suffering while allowing higher doses of radiation to increase their chances of cure.
Another medical innovation emanating from Israel, while having no impact on patient survival, contributes massively to cancer patients’ moral and psychological well being. The Israeli investigators discovered that this same molecule prevented animal models from losing their hair or fur when undergoing irradiation. They found that a protein plays a central role in hair loss. They applied an antibody to this protein and administered it prior to radiotherapy in animal models. These animals kept their hair throughout radiotherapy. Clinical trials are underway and Israeli scientists are looking into the prevention of hair loss from chemotherapy as well as radiotherapy in patients undergoing cancer treatments, a leading cause of psychological distress.
Many more medical innovations emanating from Israel are in progress such as the use of gene therapy based on RNA interference (RNAi) referred to in a previous essay for curing cancer without the customary invasive use of chemotherapy and radiation, and I intend to keep you posted on this major innovation in future essays. It is a shame that the world which will ultimately benefit from these medical innovations originating from Israel, are instead making the lives of Israelis insufferable through unjustified bias and even medieval anti-Semitic accusations. Could one imagine what additional stellar contributions might be made if Israel in particular and Jews in general were not the victims of unjustified accusations and harassment by the world community, especially when Israel stands among the giants in new technologies and medical discoveries that enhance our everyday lives?
RNAi – A GENETIC SILVER BULLET?
Researchers are actively working on the use of genetics to cure malignant diseases such as cancer. Presently, treatment for cancer includes invasive and traumatic procedures affecting the patient such as chemotherapy and radiation without any guarantee that the disease will not recur. One of the most sought after remedies is based on RNA interference (RNAi) which is a system within living cells which helps to treat diseases and discover the function of genes and plays an important role in the chemistry of life.
Fire and Mellow won the Nobel Prize in this field of RNAi, and since then, it has become the next major drug development platform for improving health care. Science declared it to be the breakthrough of the year in 2002. In fact, giant pharmaceutical companies such as Merck, Pfizer, Roche, etc., are signing deals worth $1 billion each with RNAi start-up companies, just based on patent licensing and pre-clinical studies.
Unfortunately, the number of cancer cases is increasing alarmingly in the Western world and in the 21st century, there is still no efficient treatment for cancer, since the technology used today has not changed for the past generations. Hence, it is encouraging to know that drugs based on RNAi are slowly emerging with encouraging results in clinical trials and have succeeded in halting the growth of cancer tumors, however, the journey to RNAi medicine remains tortuous and long.
The main challenge of initiating this type of treatment is focused on the delivery of new drugs based on RNAi to target cells. Whether the methods of administration range from oral to intravenous, the results have been poor even when used with advanced carriers such as nano-particles. Fortunately, the research engines are working overtime every day to come up with the most efficient delivery system, and when this happens, medical treatment of major diseases will have made a huge leap forward.
Cancer is a complex genetic disease that differs from patient to patient. One day, maybe in the not too distant future, drug delivery based on RNAi will be tailored to an individual patient and to a particular cancerous tumor so that medicine of tomorrow will be personalized. Although this technology is still in its infancy, doctors, researchers and also engineers are working hard in their proverbial well-equipped laboratories to eradicate malignant diseases affecting the world. The path of turning a promising idea into an effective therapy is slowly unfolding so that maybe, one day, we will end up living as long as trees (Isaiah 65:17-25).