Diabetes Research in Israel

February 1, 2013

Artificial pancreas—People who have diabetes must check their blood-sugar level every few hours throughout the day and night, to determine when and how much insulin is needed to balance it. A new artificial pancreas developed at Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Tel Aviv could make this task automatic. For more information: http://www.schneider.org.il/Eng/Index.asp

DiaPep 277—The largest and most advanced study ever involving Type 1 diabetes patients is centered around an insulin alternative developed at Israel’s Andromeda Biotech. The synthetic peptide DiaPep277 seems to halt the progression of this form of the disease, in which a haywire immune response actually kills the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Final clinical results are expected in 2014. For more information: http://www.andromedabio.com

Medical smartphone—LifeWatch V, the world’s first medical smartphone, is an Android-based phone with embedded sensors to analyze everything from blood glucose levels to body fat percentage. Blood-glucose test strips can be inserted into a portal on the phone’s stainless-steel frame, and results are automatically and securely sent to a remote server for analysis. Results are quickly shared with the user and/or a parent or healthcare provider via email or text message. Now in the process of regulatory approvals in Israel, LifeWatch V was designed to be user-friendly for anyone from children to seniors. Young diabetes patients are a core target group because the device will help parents monitor their children’s daily testing and treatment while they are at school. For more information: http://www.lifewatchv.com

Transplanting insulin-producing cells—One of the promising approaches in treating Type 1 diabetes is to transplant healthy insulin-producing beta cells into the pancreas. A new technique developed by Ben-Gurion University Prof. Smadar Cohen increases the survival and effectiveness of these transplanted cells. Her breakthrough approach, currently being tested on diabetic mice, involves surrounding the transplanted cells with a three-dimensional latticework of nurturing blood vessels. The biologically engineered tissue secretes growth hormones and helps cells communicate with one another.

Source: Excerpts of an article by Abigail Klein Leichman, www.israel21.c.org