About Us
Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the future of humanity.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/brain-s-immune-system-key-to-reversing-dementia/
Aug 18, 2015...
New research gives hope to those suffering with dementia
Leading neurobiologist Professor Michal Schwartz said the findings were “very exciting” – and showed for the first time that a diseased brain was able to fight the debilitating condition.
Scientists saw a significant drop in the symptoms of dementia when they reduced the cells that prevent the immune system from reacting.
The study by experts at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and published in journal Nature Communications, offers hope of a drug for the disease which affects about 850,000 people in Britain.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/breakthrough-cancer-cure-has-deep-israeli-roots/
Feb 17, 2016...
Illustrative photo of a doctor with a cancer patient (cancer patient image via Shutterstock)
A breakthrough cancer study in which patients suffering from a form of leukemia saw their diseases go into remission after they were treated with genetically modified T-cells has deep roots in Israel.
One of the first in the world to work on the innovative adaptive immunotherapy technique to treat cancer, which was hailed Tuesday worldwide as a potentially “extraordinary” development, was Weizmann University Professor Zelig Eshhar. Speaking Wednesday on Israel Radio, Eshhar said he was very heartened to hear about the results of the study at the University of Pennsylvania.
Aug 24, 2016...
Source: Dr Steven A Rosenberg, MD/PhD. Micrograph of a group of T cells attacking a tumour cell.
Robert Hershberg, chief scientific officer at New Jersey-based biotechnology company Celgene, recalls the first time he heard about engineered T cells. It was back in 2002 when he was working at a company called Corixa in Seattle, Washington. “There was a discussion about these strange molecules called T bodies and we all thought it was a little bit hare-brained and I remember thinking… it’s going to be a real longshot.”
Mar 11, 2016...
Maybe you heard about it on NPR. Or the BBC. Or your local paper or news station. The world paid attention to the news that a novel cancer treatment is sending blood cancer patients into "dramatic remission."
This is just the latest thrilling progress in the treatment, which uses a patient’s own immune system to defeat cancer. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, which conducted the new trials, reports that "Twenty-seven out of 29 patients with an advanced blood cancer … experienced sustained remissions," and that "some of the patients in the trial, which began in 2013, were originally not expected to survive for more than a few months because their disease had previously relapsed or was resistant to other treatments," but "today, there is no sign of disease."
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/coaxing-the-immune-system-to-fight-cancer/
May 08, 2018...
Image via Lightspring/Shutterstock.com
Immunotherapy was once the black sheep of cancer research. Originally conceived over a century ago, it aims to stimulate a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. That’s a very different approach than chemotherapy, which essentially poisons tumors.
Early trials of immunotherapy in the 1900s and a second round of experiments in the 1980s caused toxic side effects. That led oncologists to dismiss this approach– until 2011, when a new immunotherapy treatment gave patients with metastatic melanoma years of tumor-free extra life.
May 15, 2019... May is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month – the perfect time, as we head into summer, to think about protecting our skin. The American Cancer Society predicts that in 2019, almost 100,000 American adults will be diagnosed with invasive melanoma, and while that number may not be massive, it’s important, as melanoma is the deadliest of the skin cancers. Treatments are often ineffective; thus, early intervention is crucial.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/can-boosting-immunity-make-you-smarter/
Feb 12, 2013...
T cells, white blood cells that are a key part of the immune system, may also play an important role in cognitive function. NIBSC/Science Source
After spending a few days in bed with the flu, you may have felt a bit stupid. It is a common sensation, that your sickness is slowing down your brain. At first blush, though, it doesn’t make much sense. For one thing, flu viruses infect the lining of the airways, not the neurons in our brains. For another, the brain is walled off from the rest of the body by a series of microscopic defenses collectively known as the blood-brain barrier. It blocks most viruses and bacteria while allowing essential molecules like glucose to slip through. What ails the body, in other words, shouldn’t interfere with our thinking.But over the past decade, Jonathan Kipnis, a neuroimmunologist in the University of Virginia School of Medicine’s department of neuroscience, has discovered a possible link, a modern twist on the age-old notion of the body-mind connection. His research suggests that the immune system engages the brain in an intricate dialogue that can influence our thought processes, coaxing our brains to work at their best.
Aug 29, 2017...
The headquarters of Gilead Sciences in Foster City, California Credit: Eric Risberg, AP
The almost $12 billion that Gilead Sciences agreed on Monday to pay for Kite Pharma is testament not only to Israeli innovation but also to the entrepreneurship of Kite’s Israeli founder and CEO, Prof. Arie Belldegrun, and his ability to leverage a vast store of medical knowledge and Wall Street connections.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/immune-system-may-also-help-brain/
Jan 17, 2006...
Scientists have surprising new evidence that the immune system, best known for protecting the body against pathogens, also plays a key role in the brain's ability to grow new neurons in adulthood.
If true, boosting the immune system may be one way to protect against age-associated learning and memory problems, said Michal Schwartz, lead author of a paper on the research published this month in Nature Neuroscience.
Nov 01, 2016... Understanding Immunotherapy: History and Lifesaving Breakthroughs
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