All patients treated in the first clinical study saw their condition improve dramatically
It is at the Laniado hospital in Netanya (north) that the first treatment in the world against amputation in people with diabetes or suffering from atherosclerosis has been developed.
“People with diabetes have problems with the blood vessels in their legs, especially the smaller ones. This is the reason why these patients suffer from frequent wounds that degenerate and cause gangrene resulting in amputations,” says Dr. Shlomo Baytner, vascular surgeon.
Dr. Yael Porat founded the company Biogencell to help these patients whose small blood vessels are damaged and for whom medicine has no solution. She has thus developed a cellular therapy which requires only a simple blood test from the patient.
“We generate the patient’s own cell therapy from samples of his blood. What we obtain at the end of the process is a mixture of cells exclusively from the treated patient, including cells that will improve the regeneration of blood vessels and allow revascularization of the limb, while others will help fight the inflammation.The treatment is then injected into the patient.
All patients treated in the first clinical study conducted six years ago saw their condition improve dramatically and were able to escape amputation. Noam was one of them.
“I had two sores that had developed on my big toe on my left foot which were not healing. My toe then started to die off and I was in a lot of pain. I couldn’t walk anymore and the doctors didn’t saw no other solution than amputation”, says this patient.
As a last resort, Noam was offered to take part in the Biogencell clinical trial. Blood was taken from him and two days later he received the famous therapeutic injection. His wound then gradually subsided and he was quickly able to resume his usual activities, such as folk dance lessons, a passion he shares with his wife.
On the strength of these results, Biogencell is now conducting a larger clinical trial in partnership with Israeli, American, Hungarian and Belgian hospitals, and is appealing to patients who would like to participate. A tremendous hope for millions of people around the world.
