While the international media insists on placing a negative focus on Israel, it’s important to know about the positive contributions Israel makes. Here’s some of the latest news from Israel in the area of medicine.
Preventing Deadly Infections
An anti-inflammatory drug, alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT), could be effective in preventing deadly infections in patients with compromised immune systems, researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) announced last week.
As reported in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, the study, led by Dr. Eli C. Lewis and his team of BGU researchers, examined the effectiveness of AAT as treatment against the growth and spread of bacteria.
Bacterial infections in patients with compromised immune systems can lead to sepsis, multiple organ dysfunction and death, even with the treatment of antibiotics. This is especially problematic when such individuals experience prolonged hospitalization, where they are exposed to large amounts of bacteria.
The unexpected discovery occurred when mice were treated with AAT in an effort to determine whether the drug would strengthen infections. To the researchers’ surprise, the treated mice combated lethal infections better than did untreated mice, and bacteria directly introduced into their systems were almost completely eradicated by the AAT therapy within 24 hours.
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