The Neuromuscular Disease Clinic and Clinical Electrophysiology in the Department of Neurology at Rambam Health Campus (Rambam) in Haifa, Israel, recently inaugurated a testing service for quick and accurate diagnosis of life-threatening neuro-immunological diseases.
Dr. Lilach Kapon and Dr. Shahar Shelly in the Clinical Immunology Laboratory at Rambam. Photography: Rambam HCC
Myasthenia gravis (a chronic autoimmune, neuromuscular disease) and neuritis (an inflammatory muscle disease) are life-threatening conditions. However, accurate and rapid diagnosis is now possible at Rambam. Treating neuroimmunological diseases is a significant and growing focus at Rambam.
A new neuroimmunological disease testing service in the Clinical Immunology Laboratory, under the directorship of Dr. Lilach Kapon, recently opened. Rambam is now the third medical center in Israel to offer this type of diagnostic testing and the only hospital in the country to incorporate it into one laboratory.
Kapon says, “This is good news for residents of Northern Israel, who, until now, have had to wait for test results sent to the other two medical centers. Rambam’s new and efficient service dramatically cuts this waiting time.”
“For the thousands of patients suspected of having neuroimmunological diseases, the new service is significant,” explains Dr. Shahar Shelly, Head of the Neuromuscular Disease Clinic and Clinical Electrophysiology in the Department of Neurology at Rambam, who developed this initiative. “Blood tests confirm diagnoses of these diseases and enable us to proceed with further treatment. In addition to this diagnostic service, Rambam has established dedicated follow-up clinics that incorporate expert and multi-disciplinary collaborations. Offering these services under one roof significantly enhances our treatment capabilities.”
Shelly recommends that individuals experiencing increased weakness, double vision, difficulty swallowing, tingling in their extremities, muscle pain, and walking instability seek medical advice and, if necessary, obtain a referral for blood tests to facilitate the correct diagnosis.
