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Professor Dr. Jacob Sheskin & The Revival of the Thalidomide
Dr. Jacob Sheskin, M.D.

Professor of Dermatology & Venereology

Borned in Vilna Poland   -   1914

Died in Jerusalem Israel  -  1999

Medical Degress

1939 -  University of Vilna, Poland

1940 -  University of Kovno, Lithuania

Specialization and Member of Medical Teaching Stuff in:  Clinical Dermatology, Tropical Skin Diseases, Skin Allergic Diseases and Sexology

1945-1947 -  Warsaw University

1949-1954 -  Caracas Venezuela

1955-1956 -  Madrid  University 1956-1981 -  Hebrew University in Jerusalem at Hadassah University Hospital Center 1964-1998 -  Universities of Bazel and Zurich

1974-1998 -  Universitaets-Hautklinik, Hamburg, Germany Director of Hansen's Disease Hospital in Jerusalem

== Thalidomide ==

Thalidomide's notorious past

Thalidomide was first introduced in the 1950s as a sedative, it was prescribed to pregnant women to combat the nausea and insomnia associated with morning sickness. Women who took the drug in early pregnancy gave birth to children with severe birth defects such as missing or shortened limbs. Shortly after the link between Thalidomide and birth defects was proved it was banned world-wide.

A new use to a notorious drug came to light

In 1964, Prof. Dr. Jacob Sheskin, a doctor at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, used Thalidomide to provide some relief to a suffering  man,  patient with lepromatous leprosy,  who  was  hospitalized at Hansen's Disease Hospital in Jerusalem affiliated to Hadassah Medical Center. That doomed patient, who was suffering greatly, received Thalidomide knowing that the drug will act as a sedative and help the patient to sleep. The effect was immediate, within three days the leprosy had gone the skin lesions healed and the numbness disappeared when the patient stopped taking the Thalidomide all the lesions reappeared. It seemed that Thalidomide would act as a suppressor, producing a retreat to the disease, although it could not actually eradicate the illness entirely. The association between the patient’s dramatic improvement and thalidomide had to be proved. He had to contact Muckter (that produced the thalidomide), to obtain more thalidomide for a larger scale study, because the drug was banned and forbidden. After vast research and study, Dr. Sheskin, came to the conclusion that thalidomide is fighting against the autoimmune reaction of the body. Thalidomide made a comeback when Dr. Sheskin discovered  that the drug has a big effect on symptoms of lepromatous leprosy  and  erythema nodosum leprosum.

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed a total remission of the disease in 99% of thousands of lepers treated by him in 52 countries.

After a vast research, 110 professional scientifical papers published, Dr. Sheskin fined  that  this  drug  can  help  in  most  of  the  diseases  that  immunology  problems  are  involved or is  needed  to  reduce inflammation. That is:  psoriasis,  sarcoidosis,  lupus,  Behcet's syndrome,  AIDS  and  cancers. During the early  1990's  he  began  a  research  to  this  direction  with  scientist  in  Europe  and  USA. Profrssor Dr.  Sheskin  Jacob  deceased  at  the  date:   17/04/1999

The Thalidomide provide remedy now to a large scale of diseases and it would have not be known without Professor Sheskin Jacob's observation and research. This is the reason for receiving the fofollowing prizes and awards:

1969                Gold Medal from "Laboratorio de Investigaciones Leprologicas", Argentina

1975                Gold Medal "World Academy of Art and Science" ranked as Benefactor of Humanity 1997                 Named "Yakir Yerushalayim" - Worthy son of Jerusalem 2007                A Street near the place were was the Hansen's disease hospital in Jerusalem  (now  empty) was called on his name. The building  will  be  turned  to  museum.