In people with longstanding type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for heart attack and stroke, lowering blood sugar to near-normal levels did not delay the combined risk of diabetic damage to kidneys, eyes, or nerves, but did delay several other signs of diabetic damage, a study has found.  The intensive glucose treatment was compared with standard glucose control.

These findings are from the NIH-funded Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial.  Although intensive treatment produced some beneficial changes, this approach was reported in 2008 to increase death rates. 

The new ACCORD findings appear June 29, 2010 in The Lancet’s special online diabetes issue, coinciding with a presentation of the study results at the American Diabetes Association’s 70th annual scientific sessions in Orlando.

Over time, diabetes damages the small blood vessels of the eyes, nerves, kidneys and other organs, leading to pain and disability.  Heart disease due to damaged large blood vessels is a major cause of death in persons with type 2 diabetes. The longer a person has diabetes, the greater the chances of serious complications, including vision loss and blindness, foot ulcers and amputations, kidney disease and kidney failure, and heart disease and stroke.

“In these ACCORD participants with established type 2 diabetes and additional risk factors for cardiovascular disease, intensive lowering of blood glucose reduced some markers of eye, nerve and kidney disease compared with standard glucose control, but the groups did not differ in the rate of progression to kidney failure, nerve disease, and major vision loss,” said lead author Faramarz Ismail-Beigi, M.D., Ph.D., of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland. 

The ACCORD clinical study compared the effect of intensive control of blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood lipids to standard, less-intensive treatments on the risk of major cardiovascular events in more than 10,000 adults with established type 2 diabetes.  The study’s intensive glycemia arm was halted in February 2008 due to excess deaths in that group.  At that time, participants in the intensively treated group were moved to standard glucose control.

At enrollment, ACCORD participants averaged 62 years of age and were obese.  In addition to having type 2 diabetes for an average of 10 years, about one-third had pre-existing heart disease, and the remainder had at least two additional cardiovascular disease risk factors. They also had high blood sugar, as measured by the hemoglobin A1C test, which shows average blood sugar in the preceding two to three months.  Half of participants had an A1C over 8.1 percent— above the currently recommended target for good control.   A1C values in people without diabetes are less than 6 percent.

Previously reported results showed that over about three-and-a-half years of follow up, participants in the intensive blood sugar group had a 22 percent higher risk of death (5 percent versus 4 percent) and a three times higher risk of seriously low blood sugar (10.5 percent versus 3.5 percent) compared with participants in the standard blood sugar control group.

A secondary goal of the ACCORD blood sugar trial was to determine the effects of near-normal glucose control compared with standard control on microvascular, or small blood vessel, damage to organs and tissues.  Earlier, well conducted clinical trials in patients with newly diagnosed type 1 and type 2 diabetes had proven lowering blood sugar levels reduced eye, nerve and kidney disease.  ACCORD builds on this earlier data by studying benefits of further reduction of glucose to targets near normal, and by studying participants with long-standing rather than newly diagnosed diabetes.

In ACCORD, the A1C target for the intensively treated group was less than 6 percent, a level seen in adults without diabetes and significantly lower than the levels tested in earlier trials.  The goal for standard control was an A1C of 7 to 7.9 percent, an average range achieved by individuals treated for type 2 diabetes in the United States.  Both groups were treated with Food and Drug Administration-approved diabetes medications, as prescribed by their study clinician.

Eye, nerve, and kidney complications in the two groups were compared after 3.7 years, when intensive control was halted, and again at the study’s end after 5 years.  When intensive glucose treatment was halted in the group receiving such treatment, half those participants had an A1C of 6.4 percent or lower, which rose to 7.2 percent at study end.  In the standard treatment group, that A1C measure was 7.5 percent, rising to 7.6 percent by the end of the study.

The treatment groups did not differ in the rate of progression to kidney failure, major vision loss, or advanced peripheral neuropathy, a common nerve problem in diabetes that usually begins as tingling or numbness in the feet.  However, people in intensive control had less deterioration in a vision test, and 20 percent fewer cataract surgeries compared with those in standard control.  They also had a 30 percent lower rate of protein leakage in the urine, a sign of kidney disease and increased risk of heart disease.  Testing for vibratory sensation, an indicator of nerve health, showed no difference between the groups, but the intensively controlled group scored better on other nerve tests. 

ACCORD is continuing follow-up to assess whether the early changes seen in this study will result in differences in blindness, nephropathy and neuropathy. “The study had a relatively short time period – 3.7 years – to see significant differences in serious complications.  Diabetes is a chronic disease, and prevention of complications should be measured over many years,” said Ismail-Beigi.

The effects of intensive blood sugar control on vision are consistent with findings from the ACCORD Eye Study, which explored the effects of intensive treatments on progression of diabetic retinopathy in a subset of about 3,000 ACCORD participants. The most common cause of vision loss in working-age Americans, diabetic retinopathy is a disease in which blood vessels in the eye’s light-sensitive retinal tissue are damaged by diabetes. Intensive blood sugar control was found to be beneficial in retarding the progression of diabetic retinopathy.

“ACCORD provides important data on the risks and benefits of intensive glucose control in people with established type 2 diabetes,” said Susan B. Shurin, M.D., acting director of the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).  “Although increasing treatment to try to achieve near-normal blood sugar provides some benefit, clinicians and patients should note that this treatment strategy also potentially increases the risk of adverse effects in patients with additional risk factors for heart disease, such as those studied in ACCORD.” 

“Earlier landmark trials have proven that intensive glucose control early in the course of diabetes provides long-term benefits in reducing microvascular complications.  ACCORD fills an important gap by studying adults with diabetes later in the disease and examining even more stringent glucose control than that previously proven beneficial,” said Judith Fradkin, M.D., director of the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).  “This new information will help tailor therapy for individuals with long established diabetes who are at high risk of cardiovascular events or already have cardiovascular disease.” 

About 24 million people in the United States have diabetes. It is the main cause of kidney failure, limb amputations, and new onset blindness in adults and a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for up to 95 percent of all diabetes cases, becomes more common with increasing age.  It is strongly associated with obesity, physical inactivity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational diabetes (diabetes that occurs during pregnancy), and impaired glucose metabolism, and it is more common in minority groups.  The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes has more than doubled in the last 30 years, due in large part to the upsurge in obesity and aging of the population.

The NHLBI is the primary sponsor of ACCORD, with additional funding and scientific expertise contributed by the NIDDK. Other components of the NIH — the National Institute on Aging and National Eye Institute — as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, supported sub-studies. The following companies provided study medications, equipment, or supplies: Abbott Laboratories, Amylin Pharmaceutical, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Bayer HealthCare LLC, Closer Healthcare Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Novo Nordisk, Inc., Omron Healthcare, Inc., Sanofi-Aventis U.S., and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Source: NIH News

by GERSON PANITCH, FINNEGAN

June 14, 2010

Patent professionals and U.S. Supreme Court watchers alike on high alert as a Bilski decision is expected before the Court’s 2009 term comes to an end this month.  Perhaps no case is more anticipated than the decision in Bilski v. Doll, especially for those in high-tech fields such as telecom, software, and professional services.  Over a year has passed since the Supreme Court agreed to hear Bilski’s appeal (June 1, 2009), and more than seven months since hearing oral arguments (Nov. 9, 2009).  Bilski, which deals with the types of processes that are patentable in the U.S., is one of the oldest pending cases on the Supreme Court’s docket.  If no decision is reached by the end of this month, the Court must either dismiss the appeal or reset the case for a new argument in next year’s term. 

Until the Bilksi case, the U.S. was a place where it was possible to patent almost “anything under the sun that is made by man.”  Only such things as abstract ideas (e.g., mathematical algorithms); natural phenomena; and laws of nature were considered unpatentable in the U.S.  And even inventions in these areas were still patentable if expressed in a practical application.  As a result, throughout the Internet boom and to the present, the U.S. became a haven for protecting methods of doing business, even though business methods remained unpatentable in most other countries of the world.

But the Bilski case signaled that a change might be on the horizon.  Bilski tried to patent a method for managing commodity trading risk.  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected Bilski’s patent claim because it could have been performed without the use of a machine.  The appeals court affirmed the rejection, stating that a process is patentable in the United States only if:

(1) it is tied to a particular machine or apparatus, or

(2) it transforms a particular article into a different state or thing.

On Bilski’s behalf, lawyers from the Finnegan law firm argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that such a narrow interpretation traps U.S. patent law in the 19^th century by limiting patentable processes to traditional manufacturing methods, and excluding modern business practices.  Moreover, the Federal Circuit’s test effectively draws a distinction between technological fields; something the U.S. patent law has never done.  Business methods, financial services, software, and medical diagnostic inventions are now in an unacceptable state of uncertainty as they await the Supreme Court’s decision. 

The U.S. Supreme Court rarely decides patent law cases, and the decision in Bilski is sure to have far-reaching implications for patenting in the U.S.

About Finnegan 
With more than 375 intellectual property lawyers, Finnegan is one of the largest IP law firms in the world.  From offices in Washington, DC; Atlanta, Georgia; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Palo Alto, California; Reston, Virginia; Brussels, Belgium; Shanghai, China; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan, the firm practices all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law, including counseling, prosecution, licensing, and litigation.  The firm represents clients on IP issues related to international trade, portfolio management, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, and unfair competition.  For additional information on the firm, please visit www.finnegan.com.

BioMed 2010: Merck-Serono reaches out to collaborate with Israeli companies and entrepreneurs

This is done through Inter-lab is the company’s R&D center in Israel • Inter-Lab CEO, Regine Shevach: “The Israeli science has a special zest to it, one which we are thrilled to encounter time and time again; Together with Merck Serono, this special zest can create the next blockbuster drug…”

Merck Serono, the largest biotechnology company in Europe, is calling on Israeli entrepreneurs and companies to collaborate, through the company’s R&D center in Israel – Inter-Lab.

Merck Serono is a division of the German giant pharmaceutical company Merck (Merck KGaA), traded in Germany (MRGG.DE). Merck Serono is the manufacturer of the drug Rebif® for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, developed by Inter-Lab in Israel (formerly known as InterPharm). Rebif® is one of the leading drugs in the world for the treatment of MS, with sales of EU 429 million during Q1 2010. In 2009, Rebif® sales were EU 1.537 billion. The Merck Group employs over 33,000 employees worldwide.

In the company’s call to collaborate to entrepreneurs, Merck Serono states that it is the ideal partner of choice for the development of new drugs and has a proven track record of developing blockbuster drugs:  Rebif® for the treatment of MS, Erbitux® for the treatment of oncological diseases and Gonal-F® for fertility treatments. All of these drugs have Israeli roots.

Inter-lab CEO, Ms Regine Shevach; “The Israeli science has a special zest to it, one which we are thrilled to encounter time and time again. Together with Merck Serono, this special zest can create the next blockbuster drug. We are reaching out and looking for unique collaborations, also from the very early stages of drug development. In our R&D center in Yavne, we offer the best team of scientists using the most advanced laboratories in Israel.”

The CEO of Inter-Lab also stated: “the biggest challenge today is developing a commercial drug from a molecule in its early stages of development. We are among the very few that posses the professional know-how in the development of biotechnological drugs, and part of a larger company that is a leader in all the stages of drug development. Merck Serono has a long standing commitment to Israel, which commenced over 30 years ago. We are very experienced in the biotechnology industry and are already receiving feedback to our call for collaborations at the Israeli BioMed 2010 convention.

Inter-Lab, managed by Ms Regine Shevach, was established in 1978 by Serono, which was purchased in 2006 by the German pharmaceutical giant Merck KGaA. Following the acquisition, Serono became the Merck Serono division within Merck. Inter-Lab is the company’s R&D center in Israel.

One of the big breakthroughs in the biotech industry in Israel is Inter-Labs’ development of the drug Rebif® – one of the leading drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The company performs research on cells and comprises a unique knowledge center which specializes in the development of genetically engineered cells, used in the development and production of new drugs.  Inter-lab’s scientists have accumulated decades of experience in the field. In addition, Inter-Lab is involved in scouting for new ventures in Israeli academia and industry for the Merck Group.

The Merck Group markets its drugs through its subsidiary, Merck Serono. Merck Serono Israel is managed by Ms Sherry Perlov. The Company offices are located in Herzliya. Merck Serono markets the following fertility drugs in the local market: GONAL-f®, Luveris®, Ovidrel/Ovitrelle®, Cetrotide® and Crinone®, as well as the Rebif® drug for MS treatment and drugs for oncology treatments, such as UFT® and Erbitux® (cetuximab).

Erbitux® (cetuximab) is approved in Israel for treating patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in combination with irinotecan after failure of irinotecan-based therapy, and locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) in combination with radiation therapy.

MEDIA CONTACT:

NaoriComm International

Rami Naori – 972-54-646-4434

Sharon Levy-Matzkin – 972-54-636-6060

Following the opening words of the event’s organizers, ILSI and Kenes, the president of Israel Shimon Peres came up to the stage and surveyed the future of Israel, which will be based on advanced technologies and serve as an example to the entire world. In his own words, “Israel should become an international lab.” Amen to that.

Neither did the following opening keynote lecture disappoint. Sanofi-Aventis, the multinational pharmaceutical company and the world’s fourth-largest by prescription sales, has presented its new view of developing new products. The lecturer divided the pharmaceutical market into two distinct sections: the small biotechnology companies, and the large business companies. The first kind is usually headed by innovative and creative scientists whose expertise is thinking outside the box. They have good ideas, but they lack the experience needed to break through in the market. That’s what the big pharma companies do exceptionally well: they have all the experience and knowledge needed to succeed in the market, but they lack the ground-breaking minds that can be found in the smaller companies.

The solution, according to Sanofi-Aventis, lies in collaboration. Well, that didn’t require a genius to figure out. Then again, such a collaboration is not easily brought about. On the one hand, the employees of the large companies view themselves as superior to those from the smaller companies. On the other hand, the scientists in the small companies treat their projects as their own personal babies, and refuse to accept criticism and ideas for change. All the same, Sanofi-Aventis is determined to bring about fruitful collaborations between the Davids and the Goliaths of the world. To that purpose, they have cut down their portfolio by 40%, and rewired all the human resources and money that became available into new projects, with a core of efficient and competent employees who collaborate with a variety of other companies.

The end result: since 2010, sixty percent of the compounds in Sanofi-Aventis’ portfolio are developed via collaborations. Such collaborations can also promote projects that integrate knowledge and expertise from different fields, such as glucose sensors connected directly to an insulin pump, or robotic hands that connect to the nervous system.

Let us all hope that this trend – collaboration in place of a take-over – will become more common, and will bring about the development of novel technologies and products more efficiently and in a shorter amount of time.

The purpose of the visit is to examine potential collaboration between the visitors and the new initiative in the Negev, BGU being one of the partners in the project. Prof. Rivka Carmi, president of the university, places a great amount of value in the initiative, which can be directed to promote the fields of life sciences and biotechnology in the area.

“Bio-Negev was founded so as to classify the Negev as an international center for the biotechnology and life sciences industry.” Says Dr. Shay Yarkoni, Bio-Negev’s CEO and chairman of the advisory board of the export institute in the life sciences field. Yarkoni, a medical doctor and a senior manager in the biotechnology industry, has emphasized that Bio-Negev is today the only cluster from Israel that is also a partner of the steering committee of the European CEBR, and that it will integrate resources and existing abilities (academic, clinical and industrial) and will act towards the establishment of industrial foundations in the area and serve as an epicenter that will attract monetary, organizations, management and human resources to the Negev.

Source: Ben-Gurion University’s press release

NanoVibronix will present the second generation of PainShield – for the treatment of pain and chronic wounds using ultrasound waves

Following the commercial success of the first generation PainShield device, for the treatment of (surprise, surprise) pain, especially one that stems from Trigeminal Neualgia, the Israeli company NanoVibronix now reveals the second generation of the device. This time, it has some extra capabilities to treat chronic wounds. NanoVibronix, based in Nesher, is developing and marketing medical devices based on ultrasound technology it has developed. The PainShield is a small, mobile device which produces low-powered waves at a supersonic frequency, and is used to treat and cure infections, injuries and pains in tendons, joints and those of neural origins.

The PainShield is composed of two parts: a device which supplies the electrical signal and a treatment patch which is attached directly to the skin at the site of treatment, or nearby. A rechargeable battery supplies the power for the device, which can be belted on the body for optimal mobility and comfort. The sound waves submit vibrations that can reach a depth of up to 4 centimeters below the skin, and to a range of 10 centimeters around the patch. The device is recommended for a prolonged treatment of up to seven hours each day.

“Ultrasound has been used for many years to cure soft tissues, accelerating fracture fusion and to treat pain,” says Amir Rippel, the company’s vice head of marketing. “PainShield’s uniqueness is in a mobile application which allows one to be treated independently of a physiotherapist, and thus the treatment can be performed in the patient’s house as well. A prolonged mobile use of ultrasound at low power and frequency improves the local blood flow, reduces local infectious response and accelerates the process of healing and pain reduction. The innovation that we’ll present for the first time to a Israeli audience in the BioMed 2010 Week, will demonstrate a new use for the device: introducing local antiobiotics, enrichment with oxygen or washing and locally cleaning chronic wounds via ultrasound waves.”

PainShield has an AMAR certificate in Israel, has been approved by the FDA and also has a CE Mark in Europe.

Source: DMC, Donitza Market Communication

The Coming ILSI–Biomed Israel 2010 Week: The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute: Life Sciences Export Rose by 14% on the First Quarter of 2010, Summing up to the Total of ca. $1.7 Billion

“The first 2010 quarter export of the life sciences industry summed up to ca. $1.7 billion, an increase of about 14 percent compared to the same period last year. This increase is derived from a 15.4 percent increase in the export of medications, which has summed up to ca. $1.3 Billion; medical and surgical instrumentation had an increase of 7.5 percent, summing up to about $306 Million,” said Mr. Avi Hefetz, the Chief Executive Officer of the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute. The information, published based on an analysis made by the institute financial unit, was collected in view of the coming ILSI–Biomed Israel 2010 Week, the key annual life–sciences event in Israel, that will be held between June the 14th and the 16th, 2010 in the David Intercontinental hotel in Tel–Aviv.

Geographical Analysis made to the life sciences export data of the first quarter of 2010, shows that ca. 68 percent of the total export, constituting $1.1 Billion, were sent to North America, a 4 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. The export to the European union, ca. $346 Million, had a 23 percent rise compared to the same period last year. The export of the life sciences sector accounted for ca. 21 percent share of the total export. Mr. Avi Hefetz, the CEO of the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute said that compared to other sectors, the life sciences sector is not susceptible to the European union crisis. The export to Central and South America, ca. 2 percent of the life sciences sector total export, summed up to ca. $32 Million, with a 21 percent rise compared to the same period last year. The export to the Asia, ca. $76 Million, with a 19 percent rise compared to the same period last year, constituted about 4.5 percent of the sector total export. The sector export to Africa summed up to ca. $3.8 Million, which is about 0.2 percent of the sector total export during the first quarter.

The life sciences industry 2009 total export summed up to $6 Billion, 8 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. This decrease resulted from a 7 percent reduction in the medication export, which was ca. $4.6 Billion in the previous year. The clinical equipment and instrumentation export had a reduction of ca. 13 percent, summing up to $1.4 Billion.

Geographic division of the sector 2009 export shows that 71 percent of the total export, constituting $4.3 Billion, were to North America. The export to the European Union summed up to ca. $1.1 Billion and constituted 19 percent of the export of the entire sector. The export to Central and South America, ca. 2 percent of the life sciences industry total export, summed up to ca. $98 Million, and the export to the Asia, ca. $289 Million, constituted about 5 percent of the sector total export.

Two hundred and sixty five life sciences companies exported in 2009 more than $100,000: 31 exporters exported more than $10 Million, 47 exporters exported between $2 and $10 Million and 187 small exporters exported between $100,000 and $2 Million.

Stem cells are often viewed as the ultimate solution for regenerative medicine, and for a good cause. Given the correct cues, they can regenerate whole parts of the body, and even re-create an entire embryo (although that would require QUITE some understanding of the cues involved in the process). It seems, however, that now a new use has been found for them, as seek-and-destroy missiles against cancer.

The reason this just might work is that stem cells are attracted towards cancer cells. Why? We don’t know. Some say that they respond to the same factors that cause a tumor to invade a healthy tissue. Be it as it may, a team of researchers from the Beckman Research Institute in California used genetically engineered stem cells to combat a form of cancer in the brain. The cells produced an enzyme called cytosine deaminase, which converted a drug called 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) into its active, chemotherapeutic form.

The engineered stem cells were injected into the brains of mice with glioma – a deadly brain cancer. The mice also received 5-FC, which turned into the chemotherapeutic form mainly at the sites the stem cells were at. The tumors’ mass was reduced by a whopping 70% compared with the untreated animals.

As reported in New Scientist, the US FDA granted the researchers “approval to carry out a safety trial of the therapy in up to 20 patients with recurrent glioma, for whom life expectancy is just three to six months. The stem cells will be injected into the tumour cavity following surgery to reduce its mass, and then given four days to home in on any remaining cancer cells. Patients will then be treated with daily 5-FC for one week.”

The stem cells used in the research do not seem to differentiate, and stop proliferating after 48 hours, which should ensure they won’t create yet another cancer in the body. Hopefully, the clinical trials will end well and the researchers will head to phase II soon after. In the meantime, we’ll have to settle for hearing more about cancer and stem cells at the ILSI-BioMed week 2010, where a Technology Transfer Session will be held on the subject of Pharmaceuticals and Stem cells, moderated by Dr. Sylvie Lauria, the Technology Transfer Office of Sheba Medical Center.

Source: New Scientist

The management of medical device holding company D Medical Industries Ltd. (TASE:DMDC) are not deterred by the falls on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) and on Wall Street over the past few weeks. The company today announced that it has filed a draft prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a public offering and requested a listing on Nasdaq.

D Medical plans to raise $20-25 million. The company’s opening market cap today was NIS 157 million, about $42 million. If the offering is successful, it will greatly dilute the holdings of its current shareholders.

Its ticker on Nasdaq will be “DMED”.

The company said that underwriters Rodman & Renshaw and ThinkEquity will lead the offering.

In the prospectus, D Medical said that its strategy in the coming years will be to first penetrate Brazil, Russia, India, and China (the BRIC countries), as well as Mexico, and Europe, where it can exploit the relative advantage in low production costs of the products of its subsidiaires. The company plans to sign distribution agreements in these countries.

D Medical added that it intends to rebrand the insulin pump developed by subsidiary Nilimedix Ltd. under the “Spring” label. The new name emphasizes the core technology of its insulin pump which uses a spring-based delivery system instead of the conventional motor-driven delivery system of current products.

Taken from ILSI’s website

The Department for Multiple Sclerosis in Sheba Hopsital will present for the first time a novel kit for sensory training, that improves patients’ brain activity. The kit will be presented in the BioMed Israel Week 2010, which will be held on July 14th-16th in Tel Aviv.
The kit is based on cylinders that come in varied textures, and is designed for populations that suffer from a decline in feeling at the palms, including the healthy aging population that suffers from an age-related decrease in sensory feeling. The kit should also help patients who suffer from neuropathic diseases, which cause an advanced decrease of sensory feeling due to the peripheral neuronal injury. Other target populations include patients who suffer from diseases of small blood vessels, patients with cancer who receive chemotherapy that leads to similar injury, and patients after brain infraction, or multiple sclerosis patients, in which the sensory injury is due to a brain or spinal cord injury.
The kit includes 24 cylinders, a string for the parts, a DVD set with instructions and a bag to hold them all. The use of the kit is simple: the exercise is conducted with closed-shut eyes, while feeling and identifying the texture of each cylinder for 15 minutes a day.
The new kit, in which the difficulty level (as determined by the texture) can be as befitting the user, was developed by the Department for Multiple Sclerosis in Sheba Hospital. Among the participants in the project were Prof. Anat Achiron, neurologist and head of the Multiple Sclerosis Center, Simona Gelb, occupational therapist and Michal Grinberg Abrahami, industrial designer and product developer. According to the developer team, the novelty of the invention lies in the fact that the training method is based on the learning capability and plasticity of the brain. “Recent researches have proven that training can lead to an increase in the number of synaptic connections, which correlates with an improvement in function. In the research that we have conducted on multiple sclerosis patients with sensory injury… we have found that after practicing there was an improvement of 12.5% in a PDT2 sensory test and an improvement of 27% in an MFT sensory test – and that’s after home training for three weeks.”
According to the developers, the new, user-friendly therapeutic tool has special significance for the younger of age (children and teenagers) with sensory injuries, since it enables them to practice daily in an independent manner. The kit, the price of which to the consumer will be 350 NIS, will become available during June 2010.

ILSI-BioMed Israel 2010
‘ILSI-BioMed Israel 2010′ is the annual main event of the Israeli life sciences industry. The week includes a professional international conference with the participation of the best experts (CEOs and senior managers from companies in the fields of bio-pharma and medical devices, researchers and scientists, entrepreneurs, publicists, venture capital funds managers and private investors) from Israel and abroad, and a show that presents the newest innovations. ILSI-BioMed Israel 2010, which has won international acclaim and is considered the second largest conference in the world after the United States, will be held between the 14th and 16th of June at the David Intercontinental hotel in Tel Aviv.