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All the news that fits— I Compiled by 'Elizabeth Applebaum
Drug Revolutionizes
Gaucher Treatment
IB
oston —The first-year results
of study of Ceredase, ap-
proved in 1991 by the Food
and Drug Administration, shows the
drug has revolutionized the treatment
?f Gaucher disease, a rare
Igenetic disorder that pri-
.--)
marily affects Ashkenazi
1 3INS.
The disease is marked
by an enlarged liver
nd/or spleen, bleeding,
(bruising, frequent frac-
tures, bone pain and fa-
_ * - ue (see photo). Until
(Ceredase was approved,
LGaucher was considered
) untreatable.
Henri Termeer, president of Gen-
22yme, a biotechnology company in
Cambridge, Mass., which produces the
drug, acknowledges that Ceredase is
expensive to produce and carries a high
expensive
price tag. "However," he said, "we have
taken steps to make sure that no one
with Gaucher disease is denied treat-
ment because of lack of medical insur-
ance or the inability to pay."
-' The drug, which took some 30 years
to develop, is an enzyme replacement.
L
It is the only treatment that stops symp-
toms and long-term damage from the
genetic disorder.
Gaucher disease, more common
than the better-known Tay-Sachs, is an
inherited illness parents
can carry without them-
selves being afflicted,
and in some cases is
passed along unknow-
ingly to their children.
One of every 10 Ashke-
nazi Jews in the United
States is believed to be a
carrier of the Gaucher
gene. When two carriers
produce a child, chances
are one in four that each baby will have
the disease.
Specialized treatment fOr Gaucher is
offered at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing,
(517) 483-2919.
In addition, the National Gaucher
Foundation and Children's Hospital of
Michigan will sponsor a meeting for
those affected by the disease, 7 p.m.
Aug. 20 in Board Room C at Children's
Hospital in Detroit. For information, call
the National Gaucher Foundation, 1-
800-925-8885.
High-Tech Israel
I
srael has captured a leading role
in the world's high-tech markets
chiefly because it has the world's
highest per-capita ration of scientists,
according to Dr. Yitschak Ben-Gad, Is-
tsael consul general to the Midwest. Is-
rael has 4,832 per million population,
compared to 3,282 in the United States
and 1,873 in France.
Although many Americans are un-
aware that Israel ranks tops in the de-
-;;ign and production of high-tech
products, they use Israel's scientific
'achievements every time they:
*Turn on a personal computer. The
386 chip designed in Haifa and manu-
) factured by Intel in Jerusalem is the
dominant brain center of most PCs in
,
use today.
*Undergo an electronic medical di-
agnostic exam. Israel's Elscint is a leader
in advanced diagnostic imaging equip-
ment like magnetic resonance imaging,
nuclear medicine and ultrasound.
*Dial long distance. ECI Telecom
near Tel Aviv has a 70 percent market
share of digital circuit equipment that
increases five-fold the capacity of dig-
ital satellite and fiber-optic cable com-
munication links.
"Open a news magazine. Israel's Sci-
tex is the world leader in the develop-
ment, manufacture, marketing and
servicing of color digital electronic imag-
ing systems for the publishing indus-
try.
Hot News With A
Local Twist
s everybody already knows,
Metro Detroiters are the most
onderful and interesting
people in the world. And here's proof
for anyone who doubts it:
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Mu-
seum, that Farmington Hills delight filled
with antique games and pinball ma-
chines, will be included in a new book
on the 100 most unusual museums in
the United States. The book will be writ-
ten by Sandra Gurvis and published by
Pharos Books, a subsidiary of Scripps-
Howard. Marvin's is owned by Marvin
Yagoda.
The Norwegian government has
hired the Portland, Ore., advertising firm
Holt Hughes & Stamell to handle its
public relations for the 1994 Winter
Olympics. Partner Jonathan Stamell
is a former Detroiter who attended
Mumford High School and the Univer-
sity of Michigan.
Holt Hughes & Stamell, with 15 em-
ployees, beat out 13 other agencies, in-
cluding some of the nation's largest PR
companies, for the Norwegian account.
Jewish Hospice
Has 800 Number
T
he National Institute for Jew-
ish Hospice has established a
toll-free number, 1-800-645-
4286.
Callers will receive information about
general hospice care, referrals to local
hospice centers and non-medical coun-
seling facilities, as well as literature
about hospice.
Founded in 1985, the National Insti-
tute for Jewish Hospice provides Jew-
ish care for terminally ill patients through
practical and moral guidance programs
open to families, professionals and vol-
unteers.
A z
Aleh Opens New Home
leh, an Israel-based organi-
ation providing day care
nd rehabilitation in a reli-
gious atmosphere for brain-damaged
children, has opened Belt Yahalom,
a home for severely retarded children.
The opening of the building, lo-
cated in B'nei B'rak, brought a host
of dignitaries from politicians to rab-
bis and U.S. Consul General Michael
Metrinko, who brought letters of con-
gratulations from Sens. Joseph Lieb-
erman, D-Conn., Alfonse D'Amato,
R-N.Y., and Stephen Solarz, D-N.Y.
In addition, 22 men and women
who regularly help care for the spe-
cial-needs children of Aleh have won
Israel's most prestigious award for
volunteers.
The volunteers come at all hours
of the day to the Aleh building in B'nei
B'rak, where they help parents bathe
T
and change the children's diapers.
"Volunteering has many faces,"
reads the official statement of the
award committee. "Some wear a
white coat in the hospital; some en-
joy the uniform of the fire brigade and
civil patrols. And then, there are vol-
unteers whose chores you'll find de-
void of even the tiniest morsel of fame
or status — while entailing arduous
work and requiring an inordinate
amount of physical and emotional
hardship. That is the mission of 44-
year-old Efraim, a father of six. He
runs and operates a network of vol-
unteers called The Bath Commando'
that bathes and changes the diapers
of the brain-damaged children in Beit
Yahalom."
For information, contact Aleh,
4715 13th Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.
11219.
O-U Hershey Bars
hough most of its products
have for years been under the
Orthodox Union's supervision,
Hershey Foods Corp. has not used the
0-U heksher, mark of kosher certifica-
tion. That will change beginning Sep-
tember.
Late last month, the Orthodox Union
announced Hershey products will now
bear the 0-U kosher certification. Her-
shey's products include Cadbury's, Pe-
ter Paul, Twizzler's, York and Reese's,
too — so there's no reason not to en-
joy a complete meal featuring your fa-
vorite peppermint patties, Almond Joys
and licorice sticks.
And yes, even those Reese's peanut
butter Christmas trees are kosher, as
are the Hershey-Ets red-and-green
Christmas treats.
Other exciting news from the kosher
front: Just Born candies will soon bear
an 0-U. These include Mike and Ike,
Cherri and Bubb, Jolly Joes and Hot
Tamales.
Music To Your Ears
nd now, for the next install-
ment in Curiosities of Jewish
istory...
Did you know that the Mexican na-
tional anthem and the music for the
Marines' theme song both were written
by Jews?
Austrian Henri Herz, 1802-1888,
composed the anthem during a visit to
Mexico. Mr. Herz was a pianist who
taught in Paris and established a piano
factory there.
Jacques Offenbach, 1819-1880, was
Ai
a French composer of operas and op-
erettas.
The music for the Marine Corps' an-
them was taken from Offenbach's opera
Genevieve de Brabant During the Mex-
ican-American War, a Marine corporal
wrote a poem, "The Halls of Montezu-
ma," which he set to the music. It was
first published as the Marines' anthem
in 1919.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 11