• Dalia Itzik (photo by Ariel Jerozolimski)

  As an Israeli and as a Jerusalemite, I have a special place in my heart for Hadassah. One cannot think of Jerusalem without thinking of Hadassah, without thinking of its excellent health services.
• For almost a century, Hadassah has been building Israel. When we declared independence, we didn't need to establish a medical infrastructure, because Hadassah had already built it for us.
•  After all these generations, Hadassah's hospitals are still at the forefront of Israeli medical treatment and research. Hadassah today continues to be a vital and significant factor in our health and well-being.
•  During its lifetime, Hadassah has raised billions of dollars for Israel. But Hadassah's real value is incalculable. One cannot put a price tag on the dedication of an army of thousands of volunteers in the Diaspora, defending Israel and helping us build bridges to the rest of the world. 

Prof. Benjamin Reubinoff, Director of Hadassah's Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Treating today's Parkinson's disease patients with the latest innovations like Deep Brain Stimulation, Hadassah's physicians are simultaneously searching for a cure through world-leading stem cell research.

Parkinson's disease, characterized by a brain malfunction which disrupts electrical signals to the body that govern balance and motor control, is caused by selective degeneration of a cluster of neurons. These neurons release dopamine, the neurotransmitter affecting locomotion. When the bulk of these cells (50 to 70 percent) are destroyed, Parkinson's symptoms appear. The disease expresses itself especially through tremors and the freezing of muscles. As the disease progresses, the tremors begin to interfere with daily activities and drastically impact the quality of life for patients and their families.

Conventional drug therapies supplement the dwindling amounts of dopamine produced by the remaining neurons; however, dopamine replacement medications do not slow the rate of neuron loss and their beneficial effects decrease over time. In addition, many patients develop severe side effects to the medications, including psychosis. Transplantation of fetus-derived dopaminergic neurons can relieve Parkinson's in some patients, but limited tissue supply is a major obstacle to widespread use.

More than three years ago, Hadassah's research team, headed by Prof. Benjamin Reubinoff, Director of Hadassah's Center for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research at the Goldyne Savad Institute of Gene Therapy, and Prof. Tamir Ben-Hur, head of Hadassah's Department of Neurology, created cultures of primitive nerve cells from human embryonic stem cells and transplanted them into an area in the brain of a rat where there were no dopaminergic nerve cells. After three months it was clear that some of the transplanted human cells turned into dopaminergic nerve cells. Based on this discovery, the team has focused on causing a large number of neurons to proliferate, so that massive amounts can be transplanted. The goal is for these cells to replace the damaged neurons and cure the disease. When this effort is successful, the Hadassah team will examine the possibility of transplanting these specially cultivated human embryonic stem cells into Parkinson's patients, so their bodies can produce dopamine, thereby eradicating the disease!

During the Israel Rescue Mission to Haiti following the earthquake, a Hadassah Medical Center obstetrician delivered the Israeli field hospital's first baby and the mother, in gratitude, named him "Israel." When the surgeons ran out of medical screws needed to mend limb fractures, a Hadassah operating room nurse located the remnants of a local factory and, in searching through the ruins, found exactly the machine he needed to transform the medical nails he had into screws.

 

United States President Bill Clinton, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, praised Israel for its efforts and thanked the team, on behalf of Haiti and the international community. "The Israeli facility was the only one capable of performing the advanced medical procedures that were needed," he said.

  

Click here for a Ha'aretz article and video interview with Hadassah's Dr. Shir Dar, who delivered the baby.

 

Click here to view a CNN video which shows the sophisticated field hospital that the Israeli medical team created to help the Haitian victims.

A multidisciplinary team of physicians from the Hadassah Medical Center has discovered that a particular pattern of gene expression is present shortly after delivery in women who suffer from persistent postpartum depression (PD).

In a controlled study, the Hadassah team compared the gene expression profiles of blood mononuclear cells from mothers who experienced PD and those who did not. They discovered "a distinctive gene expression signature" among mothers with PD. The researchers conclude that "our data provide initial evidence indicating that blood cells sampled shortly after delivery may harbor valuable prognostic information for identifying the onset of persisting PD." In addition, they note that "some of the informative transcripts and pathways may be implicated in the differential vulnerability that underlies depression pathogenesis."

The authors--R.H. Segman, T. Goltser-Dubner, L. Canetti, E. Galili-Weisstub, and V. Pablov, Hadassah's Department of Psychiatry; I. Weiner and N. Friedman, Hebrew University School of Computer Science and Engineering; D. Hochner-Celnikier and A. Milwidsky, Hadassah's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology--published their findings in the January 2010 issue of Molecular Psychiatry.

In between finishing medical school and applying for residency, Joost Van Raalte, Chair of Young Hadassah Holland, makes it his priority to carve out time to lead a generation of enthusiastic young volunteers in their efforts to support the Hadassah Medical Center.   

Upon his return to Amsterdam, Joost sought out Gennie Freene, then chair of Young Hadassah Holland. It was not long before Joost joined the board and ascended to the role of Chair. Joost is determined to augment Holland's focus on Israel while building a unique niche for Young Hadassah International. Joost strives to make Young Hadassah International the hip organization, where young people come to have a good time while supporting medicine and peace-building. "I love the fact that young people all over the world are fundraising for the same great cause, the Hadassah Medical Organization," he says.

Young Hadassah Holland remains one of the most successful of the Young Hadassah International units, raising tens of thousands of euros for the Hadassah Medical Center each year. Joost contends that the key to success has been to remain active, appealing, and visible, by holding at least three to four widely publicized events each year.

"We are fortunate to have people like Joost representing Young Hadassah International. His enthusiasm and drive are invaluable and have made Holland an effective fundraising unit, having already raised close to $15,000 this year," said Liz Bazini, Chair of Young Hadassah International.  

Indeed, Joost is busy organizing multiple events, all the while expanding YH Holland's board and strengthening its internal organization. As Joost says, "I want to show people that "Hadassah is for everyone--Muslims, Palestinians, and Jews."

Young Hadassah International Volunteer and Immediate Past Chair of YHI Argentina, Dr. Romina Libster, witnessed the benefits of globally sharing her home country's experience with the H1N1 virulent 2009 flu virus, while working in the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Observing the progression of H1N1 in the Southern Hemisphere prior to the peak outbreak in the Northern Hemisphere, allowed Polack and Libster to gather information about the virus, in hopes that scientists could avoid a pandemic. Pollack found that children were ten times more at risk to become seriously or fatally ill when contracting the H1N1 virus. Furthermore, he discovered specific underlying conditions that made children more vulnerable, such as chronic lung diseases like asthma or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and neurologic diseases.