This series has one rule it tries never to break: no claim a patient could mistake for a promise. Israeli neurology tests that rule harder than any other guide here, because its most distinctive feature is research — and research is exactly the thing medical marketing most often dresses up as treatment.
So this guide starts with the distinction, and keeps coming back to it.
What Hadassah Has Actually Done
Hadassah’s Multiple Sclerosis Center has been researching the use of bone-marrow-derived stem cells to treat MS since 1990. In 2007 it began clinical trials in MS and ALS patients — the first time the approach had been applied in neurological disease, according to the centre’s head, Prof. Dimitrios Karussis.
The method involves injecting a patient’s own bone-marrow-derived stem cells into the spinal fluid, so they circulate around the brain and spinal cord. A trial developed with NeuroGenesis in progressive MS reported that repeated treatments were safe in the short to intermediate term, with clinical benefits lasting up to four years — particularly in patients given more than two injections. Those results were published in the peer-reviewed journal Brain.
That is a serious body of work. It is also, precisely, trial evidence.
What That Does and Doesn’t Mean for You
It does mean: if you have MS or ALS, Hadassah is a centre with more than three decades of research depth in your specific condition. An assessment there is informed by that depth, and part of what you can ask is whether any current trial fits your case.
It doesn’t mean: that stem cell therapy for MS is an established treatment you can book. Trial access runs on eligibility criteria set by the protocol, not on willingness to pay. “Up to four years” of benefit in some patients is an encouraging finding, not a cure.
And a practical warning that belongs in any honest guide on this subject: be very wary of any clinic, anywhere, selling stem cell treatment for MS as a routine paid procedure. The existence of genuine research at places like Hadassah is exactly what makes unproven commercial versions easy to sell.
Where Care Actually Happens
Hadassah Medical Center (Jerusalem) — a university hospital and tertiary referral centre with 130 specialised centres and departments, known for pioneering techniques and strength in oncology, hematology and complex surgical sub-specialties, with neurology alongside cardiology and orthopedics. JCI, ISO and JACIE accredited, rated 4.8/5 across 2,800 reviews, premium pricing. Hebrew and English spoken, with a long-standing international patient programme and dedicated translator coordinators.
It is Wellmap’s only verified neurology clinic in Israel. Our Israel cardiology guide covers the same hospital from the heart side — its Center for Cardiogenetics makes a parallel case: come for a specific sub-specialty the cheaper destinations lack, not for routine care.
What This Means in Practice
Israel makes the most sense for patients who:
- Have MS or ALS and want an assessment at a centre with decades of research in exactly that condition
- Want to understand, from the source, whether any current clinical trial is relevant to their case
- Have a complex neurological picture suited to a tertiary referral centre with 130 departments to draw on
- Are not primarily solving for cost
It makes least sense for routine neurology. For an assessment on a budget, Georgia offers a neurologist consultation for $30–37; for complex neurosurgery at lower cost, see Turkey or India.
What to Bring
- Your full neurological history from the first symptom — for MS, the relapse history with dates matters as much as the current state
- All MRI scans on disc or drive, including older ones; progression over time is the core of an MS assessment
- Your current and past disease-modifying therapies, with dates and reasons for any switch
- Any EDSS scores or disability assessments already recorded
- Lumbar puncture and evoked potential results if you have them
- A referral letter from your treating neurologist
Getting Started
If trial eligibility is part of why you’re asking, say so up front and send your MRI history and treatment record — eligibility is decided on the protocol’s criteria, and those two documents answer most of them. See verified neurology clinics in Israel, or ask our AI assistant — describe your diagnosis and how long you’ve had it.
Sources:
- Hadassah’s Multiple Sclerosis Center: A Global Leader in Treating MS with Stem Cells — Hadassah International
- Hadassah and NeuroGenesis Multiple Sclerosis Study — Hadassah press release
- Stem Cell Trial at Hadassah Reveals Significant Positive Results for ALS Patients — Hadassah
- Neurology and Neurodegenerative Diseases — Hadassah International