Research Advances

Prof. Benjamin Dekel, head of Sheba's Pediatric Stem Cell Research Institute, has isolated cancer stem cells that lead to the growth of a type of tumor typically found in the kidneys of young children, and developed a new therapeutic approach that could eventually provide an alternative to the often damaging chemotherapy now used on children with renal cancer. (Published in EMBO Molecular Medicine).

Dr. Asaf Vivante, a Talpiot program awardee, has found that overweight adolescents are at an increased risk for end-stage renal disease. (Published in Archives of Internal Medicine).

Prof. Rivka Inzelberg of Sheba's Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center, has found an increased tendency of Parkinson's patients to exhibit creative skills, in drawing, sculpture, poetry and other writing. (Published in Case Reports in Neurology).

Dr. Mark Weiser, chief of psychiatry at Sheba, has found that autism disorders share a root cause with psychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. (Published in Archives of General Psychiatry).

Dr. Yael Henkin of the Hearing, Speech, and the Language Center has found that bilateral cochlear implants could possibly improve binaural sound processing in the brain. (Published in Cochlear Implants International).

Dr. Adi Leiba, Prof. Arnon Afek and Dr. Ari Shamiss have found a connection between obesity in childhood and colon or bladder cancer in adulthood. The risk for these malignant tumors is 40 percent higher in adults who were overweight as children. (Published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention).