Former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Still Has Significant Brain Function According to Tests Conducted on MRI Donated by Americans for Ben-Gurion University
Former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Still Has Significant Brain Function According to Tests Conducted on MRI Donated by Americans for Ben-Gurion University
January 28, 2013
NEW YORK, January 28, 2013–A team of brain scientists, including Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev faculty (BGU), tested former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon using functional MRI to assess his brain responses at BGU’s Brain Imaging Research Center at Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel. He was presumed to be in a vegetative state since 2006 due to a brain hemorrhage, although the tests indicated significant brain activity.
Sharon was brought last week to Soroka to benefit from the most advanced MRI system in Israel in order to assess the extent and quality of his brain processing.
During the test, which lasted approximately two hours, scientists showed Mr. Sharon pictures of his family, had him listen to his son’s voice, and used tactile stimulation to assess the extent of his brain’s response to external stimuli. To their surprise, significant brain activity was observed in each test in specific brain regions, indicating appropriate processing of these stimulations.
“Americans for Ben-Gurion University is both pleased and proud that BGU’s Brain Imaging Research Center could be used to provide insight and knowledge about the former prime minister’s condition,” explains Doron Krakow, executive vice president of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Americans for Ben-Gurion University). “Equally important is that the center can now provide advanced medical care to the growing Negev population.”
Prior to the acquisition of this state-of-the-art MRI, only one machine served both the clinical and research needs of the entire Negev region with a population of 500,000.
The team consisted of Prof. Alon Friedman, and Drs. Galia Avidan and Tzvi Ganel of the BGU Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Erez Freud, Ph.D. student in BGU’s Department of Psychology, Dr. Ilan Shelef, head of Medical Imaging at Soroka University Medical Center, and Prof. Martin Monti, from the Departments of Psychology and Neurosurgery at the University of California Los Angeles who developed the testing methods.
Additional tests were performed to assess his level of consciousness. While there were some encouraging signs, these were subtle and not as strong. Prof. Monti said that “information from the external world is being transferred to the appropriate parts of Sharon’s brain; however, the evidence does not as clearly indicate whether he is consciously perceiving this information.”
According to BGU Prof. Friedman, “It is important that these new techniques be available in Israel for the large number of patients considered to be in a vegetative state. Knowing what sensory channels are intact in these patients is crucial for the family and the treating team to stimulate and interact with them.”
Among the major donors who contributed are the Skirball Foundation of New York, Jacob Shochat of Mahwah, New Jersey, and Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s Greater Texas Region. The MRI is a Philips INGENIA 3T.
Watch a short video about the Brain Imaging Research Center: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nndMo1Hb84
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