Latest news with #RamatGan
Washington Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Galmed Pharmaceuticals: Q1 Earnings Snapshot
RAMAT GAN, Israel — RAMAT GAN, Israel — Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (GLMD) on Thursday reported a loss of $1.1 million in its first quarter. On a per-share basis, the Ramat Gan, Israel-based company said it had a loss of 62 cents. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights ( using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on GLMD at
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Mentaily Raises $3M in Seed Funding to Transform Psychiatric Intervention Through AI-Powered Diagnosis and Support
GenAI Platform LIV Delivers Personal and Accurate Mental Health Response, Expanding the Pipeline of Pioneering Technologies from ARC at Sheba Medical Center RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL, May 12, 2025 / / -- Mentaily, the creator of AI-powered tools for mental health assessment, triage, and diagnosis of mental disorders, announced today the closing of a $3 million seed funding round. The round was led by a US-based family office and Israeli family offices, with participation from impact funds The Rashi Foundation and Sheatufim, and prominent digital health angel investors. Founded in 2024, Mentaily aims to address complex mental health needs emerging in times of crisis and trauma. The company's first AI-powered product, LIV, simulates clinical psychiatric intake sessions and helps diagnosis psychological distress and mental illness, with high accuracy. Mental health conditions are on the rise globally, yet support remains limited. In the United States alone, an estimated one in five people are affected by mental health issues, while over 120 million Americans live in areas with inadequate mental health services, highlighting the urgent need for new technologies to augment existing mental health interventions. The AI platform supports multilingual, natural-language conversations through voice or text, optionally featuring AI avatar to deliver a personalized and scalable approach to mental health triage. The technology was created as a joint effort between ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate) Innovation Center and the Drora and Pinchas Zakai Department of Psychiatry at Sheba Medical Center, along with Microsoft and KPMG. In addition to serving the general population, LIV supports security forces through collaborations with the Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D) and Israel's Ministry of Defense—addressing the needs of a population often affected by high stress and prolonged trauma. Future versions of the platform will be customized for additional populations, including children, adolescents, and women. Already in use across hospitals, HMOs, rehabilitation centers, and government organizations across Israel, the new funding will support ongoing development and drive expansion both locally and into select international markets. Mentaily was founded by Iris Shtein, who serves as the company's CEO, Guy Yachin, a serial Israeli-American entrepreneur, and senior clinicians from Sheba Medical Center: Prof. Mark Weiser, Dr. Asaf Caspi, and Dr. Daniel Cohen. The company is actively recruiting to support its expansion. 'At Mentaily, our mission goes beyond innovation—it's about solving real-world challenges in mental health care,' said Iris Shtein, CEO and Co-Founder of Mentaily. 'LIV enables real-time detection of deterioration and high-risk situations, allowing clinical teams to intervene early, with precision. By supporting clinical decision-making and optimizing workforce allocation, we help address the global shortage of mental health professionals. Our scalable platform not only enhances access and accuracy, but also empowers systems to prioritize care where it's needed most, transforming psychiatric triage at a national and global level.' 'LIV is a prime example of innovation born from clinicians on the ground, developed through collaboration with additional players in the ecosystem: developers, international tech leaders, and business strategists,' said Prof Eyal Zimlichman, Founder and Director of ARC, Chief Transformation and Chief AI Officer at Sheba Medical Center. 'LIV's ability to identify, prioritize, and assess mental health conditions with accuracy and empathy makes it a promising tool for health systems worldwide. Another successful digital health platform in our growing portfolio, the solution is well aligned with ARC's multi-faceted approach of responsibly and effectively developing and integrating AI into workflows of health systems globally.' ### About Mentaily Mentaily was founded in 2024 by Iris Shtein (CEO), Guy Yachin, Prof. Mark Weiser, Dr. Asaf Caspi, and Dr. Daniel Cohen, with a mission to improve access to mental health services through technology that enables an accessible, personalized, and empathetic diagnostic process. The company was created out of world-renowned Sheba Medical Center with the belief that addressing Israel's mental health crisis, particularly in regions affected by trauma, can create a model for other countries. The name LIV symbolizes life, resilience, and recovery, in response to the aftermath of the October 7th attacks. Mentaily's approach combines personalized medicine, advanced technology, and sensitivity, with the goal of delivering an empathetic solution that is accessible worldwide. About ARC ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate), the innovation arm of Sheba Medical Center, founded and directed by Prof. Eyal Zimlichman, is shaping the future of medical innovation by connecting entrepreneurs and clinicians, advancing the development and implementation of new technologies, and creating breakthrough economic frameworks in healthcare. ARC's unique model—the first of its kind in global healthcare—has positioned evolved into a global blueprint, with a network of innovation centers in leading hospitals and research institutions across London, Melbourne, Singapore, Berlin, and New Zealand. ARC's global network promotes technology-based medical solutions and accelerates the adoption of innovation within health systems worldwide. ARC provides startups and researchers with exclusive access to Sheba's core assets, clinical data and medical talent, while advancing the hospital's vision to serve as a global hub for AI-driven medicine. The model's success has already led to exits totaling approximately $1 billion, with profits reinvested to further accelerate Sheba's AI and data revolution. About Sheba Medical Center The largest and most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer is generating global impact through its medical care, research and AI-based healthcare transformation. Sheba's City of Health boasts acute-care, rehabilitation, children's, cancer and geriatric hospitals, research and innovation hubs, medical simulation center, center for disaster response and a virtual hospital on one comprehensive campus in the center of Israel. Sheba serves as a true hospital without borders, welcoming patients and healthcare professionals from all over the world and consistently providing the highest-level medical care to all in need. For more information, visit: Aviva Sapir Number 10 Strategies [email protected] Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Medscape
09-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
No Psychological Harm in Knowing Alzheimer's Risk
Learning about one's Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk may not cause emotional distress — but it could curb motivation to adopt or maintain healthy habits to preserve brain health, according to the results of a survey of adults who were cognitively unimpaired and who underwent amyloid beta PET imaging. Individuals who were told they didn't have elevated amyloid beta had reductions in all emotional parameters assessed compared to baseline, while peers who were told they did have amyloid beta deposits experienced a modest decrease in anxiety and no change in depression. 'We observed no significant harm after disclosure. However, motivation to adopt lifestyle changes decreased after disclosing both elevated and nonelevated amyloid beta status and should be targeted,' the study team reported. 'The results highlight how easily people lose motivation to make lifestyle changes aimed at maintaining cognitive health. Strategies to sustain these healthy behaviors are crucial,' first author Sapir Golan Shekhtman, PhD candidate, The Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center, Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, said in a statement. The study was published online on May 7 in Alzheimer's & Dementia. Important Topic, Limited Data Amyloid beta deposition, an early hallmark of AD, is detectable through PET imaging years before cognitive symptoms manifest. With the increasing use of this and other AD biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment eligibility, there is a need to better understand how cognitively normal individuals emotionally react to learning their biomarker status. To investigate, Shekhtman and colleagues surveyed 199 at-risk, but cognitively normal, adults before and 6 months after they underwent amyloid PET scans to determine amyloid beta status. Most were enrolled in observational trials. Disclosure of nonelevated amyloid beta was associated with a significant decrease in anxiety and depression (P < .001), as well as subjective memory complaints (P < .001), suggesting a feeling of relief and decreased worry when ruling out the presence of AD pathology, the researchers said. Disclosure of elevated amyloid beta status was associated with no change in depression or memory complaints and, counter intuitively, with a modest decrease in anxiety (P = .026). The authors cautioned that the elevated amyloid beta group only included 21 individuals, which is 'too small to draw definitive conclusions.' The individuals with elevated amyloid beta were also older than those with nonelevated amyloid beta (median, 81 years vs 63 years). While both groups expressed strong motivation to implement lifestyle changes at baseline, after disclosure, a significant decrease in reported motivation to pursue lifestyle changes was observed in both groups, although to a lesser extent in the elevated amyloid beta group. In the nonelevated amyloid beta group, this may be attributed to the relief of not having AD pathology, the authors suggested. The causes for decreased motivation are less understood in the elevated amyloid beta group. However, it is concerning as maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle is a key recommendation for the prevention of AD, they added. Summing up, the researchers said the findings are in-line with previous studies showing that amyloid beta status disclosure has a low risk for psychological harm both in elevated and nonelevated amyloid beta levels. Looking ahead, they said research is needed to identify populations with elevated psychological vulnerability and develop personalized communication strategies. 'Mechanisms behind decreased motivation for lifestyle changes after disclosure should be further explored and targeted,' they added. Funding for this research was provided by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association. The authors declared having no relevant disclosures.
