Tobacco has a healthy side, one that was discovered and developed by Israeli company Collplant, which uses the plant known for its complicity in cigarette-related lung cancer deaths to grow and harvest human collagen.

Collagen, is the material generated by the human body to help with healing wounds, repairing bones, regenerating nerves, fixing tendons and ligaments and dozens of other health and healing applications.

Collplant, currently the only company in the world generating collagen for use in the body from non-animal sources, is set to test its new Vergenix collagen application in two health clinics belonging to the Maccabee Health Fund.

The objective: To determine the effectiveness of Vergenix in repairing chronic wounds among diabetics, a major problem for those suffering from the disease.

Collagen production is usually very low among diabetics and other chronically ill individuals and many of them suffer from sores, wounds, and other skin problems that never seem to heal. Often, wounds can remain open for years, increasing discomfort and of course hiking the risk of infection.
Collplant believes that Vergenix will be able to help resolve this problem, supplying patients with enough human collagen to repair those wounds. If successful and prior studies and research by Collplant give every indication that it will be, the Maccabee study will help pave the way for approval of Vergenix and other tobacco-produced collagen treatments from Collplant by authorities in the U.S. and Europe. According to the company, the market for collagen products is in excess of $5 billion annually.

Collagen plays a major role in the body’s connective tissue, and is the most abundant protein in mammals, found in fibrous tissues such as tendons, ligaments and skin. It’s also abundant in cornea, cartilage, bone, blood vessels, the gut, and intervertebral discs, and is used in plastic surgery, wound and burn healing, tissue regeneration, orthopedics and even heart surgery.

Patients in the study will have a Vergenix-treated bandage applied to their wounds, which they will wear for about two weeks. After that, staff will examine the wounds, checking for progress and checking the body’s reaction to the treatment.

Most of the artificial human collagen in use today is produced from the remains of cows and pigs, always a risky venture, because you never know if germs or bacteria will come along “for the ride” in the collagen administered to patients.

After much experimentation, Collplant determined that tobacco plants were ideal for raising human collagen, which is genetically added to the plants. The collagen doesn’t interfere with the plant’s growth or development; and since it is not part of the seed or food chain, the likelihood of the collagen’s getting infected is extremely low.

According to Collplant CEO Yechiel Tal, “Vergenix is the first of the company’s products to be tested in clinical conditions in order to prove that it is safe and effective for treatment of wounds suffered by diabetes patients.

The information we learn in this study will help us with the regulatory process and will also help us acquire approval for other human collagen products produced through recombinant genetics. We are happy to be cooperating with Maccabee Health Services and are positive that the study will be a success.”

September 2011: Researchers at Tel Aviv University are launching clinical trails on a new technology at the patent-pending stage is intended to protect the human brain from neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The new technology was developed by Professor Daniel Offen and Professor Eldad Melamed of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Felsenstein Medical Research Center.

Stem cells are extracted from a patient’s own bone marrow and differentiated into astrocyte-like cells. These cells are responsible for the well-being of the brain’s neurons. The cells release neurotrophic factors, or neuroprotectants, which have been shown to play a key role in reducing the progress of ALS, a debilitating disease characterized by the progressive degeneration of motor neurons that results in paralysis of a patient’s limbs and organ functions. Because the original cells are drawn from the patients themselves, stated Offen, the body should have no adverse reactions.

According to the researchers, it took 10 years to develop the technology which was licensed to BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, a spinoff of TAU to develop it into a clinical-grade product. It is now called “NurOwn” and is being used in a clinical trial at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. The product will also be used in clinical trials at Massachusetts General Hospital in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Although the current study targets ALS, Professor Offen added that the cells have the potential to treat a broad range of neurodegenerative conditions, including Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. The research appeared in the Journal of Stem Cells Reviews and Reports, and a number of other publications.

September 2011: An Israeli scientist at Tel Aviv University has developed a unique fast-track gene-based technology to diagnose hearing loss, one that is faster and cheaper than current methods. Professor Karen Avraham at the university’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine working together in a unique collaboration with Professor Moein Kanaan from Bethlehem University, used “exome deep sequencing”, a method which sequences thousands of genes at a time.

Exome sequencing collects relevant DNA from specific sites of the body. The process was used to identify five genetic mutations leading to deafness in a population of 11 Jewish Israelis and Palestinian Authority Arabs. None were related to each other, but all had deafness in their families. This is the first time scientists have identified some of these genetic mutations in Middle Eastern deaf populations, and the first time this technology has ever been applied to these populations. The research was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Avraham’s method provides better diagnosis capabilities and can improve the quality of care for patients with hearing loss, she reported in the latest issue of Genome Biology. For less than $500, researchers can now scan all the known genes for deafness and provide results in a matter of weeks, as opposed to testing that in the past has cost many times more.

More than 28 million Americans are hearing impaired, with at least half of the cases traced to genetic causes. The condition can be especially challenging for children who are born with hearing impairment, because spoken language, reading and cognitive development are all tied to hearing. “That makes early diagnosis essential for identifying appropriate therapy and treatment,” Avraham commented.

“It is a remarkable step forward in helping us to find treatments and even cures for patients,” she added. “This new technology is changing the way we practice genomic medicine, and revolutionizing genetic diagnostics.” The technology can be used to search for genetic mutations that characterize any disease or condition, she noted.

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