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Professor Robert Lipschitz, MB, ChB, PhD(Med), FRCS(Edin) was a pioneer who established the Spinal Cord Injury Unit, at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. A brief description of his academic and clinical accomplishments is given.

Age-related changes in coordinated movement pattern of the thorax and pelvis may be one of the factors contributing to fall risk. This report describes the feasibility of using a new thoracopelvic assisted movement device to improve gait and balance in an elderly population with increased risk for falls. In this case series, 19 older adults were recruited from an assisted living facility. All had gait difficulties (gait speed <1.0 m/s) and history of falls. Participants received 12 training sessions with the thoracopelvic assisted movement device. Functional performance was measured before, during (after 6 sessions), and after the 12 sessions. Outcomes measures were Timed Up and Go, Functional Reach Test, and the 10-meter Walk Test. Changes in outcomes were calculated for each participant in the context of minimal detectable change (MDC) values. More than 25% of participants showed changes >MDC in their clinical measures after 6 treatment sessions, and more than half improved >MDC after 12 sessions. Six subjects (32%) improved their Timed Up and Go time by >4 seconds after 6 sessions, and 10 (53%) after 12 sessions. After the intervention, 4 subjects (21%) improved their 10-meter Walk Test velocity from limited community ambulation (0.4-0.8 m/s) to functional community ambulation (>0.8 m/s). Thoracopelvic assisted movement training that mimics normal walking pattern may have clinical implications, by improving skills that enhance balance and gait function. Additional randomized, controlled studies are required to examine the effects of this intervention on larger cohorts with a variety of subjects.

Dr. Ralph Spira (1913 Krakow, Poland-1997, TelAviv, Israel ) studied medicine in Paris and, in 1938,moved to London to work in emergency medicineand surgery. During the War, he volunteered to servewith the British Royal Navy and in a few generalhospitals. Later on, he was affiliated with the rehabilitation medicine units, and in 1948, he wassent to join Dr. Ludwig Guttmann's at the firstNational Spinal Unit, Stoke Mandeville Hospital,Aylesbury, Bucks. In 1952, he immigrated to Israeland is regarded as one of the first rehabilitationmedicine physicians in the newly established state.

In 1952 he met Dr Haim Sheba (1908 - 1971) the first director of the Israeli Health Ministry and the director of Tel Hashomer Military Hospital (about 15 Km from the Mediterranean shore), who convinced him to immigrate to Israel. Because of many professional disputes, Ralph Spira left Ernst Spira,and worked as a rehabilitation medicine consultant for the MALBEN AJDC organization. At Assaf-Harofe Hospital, Ralph's main focus was on disabled children with cerebral palsy or those who were paralyzed during the poliomyelitis epidemic. When he began throwing empty bottles at the police officers sent to arrest him, he was shot and seriously wounded. A- Conception and study design; B - Collection of data; C

ABSTRACT Alfred Korzybski was a Polish-American philosopher who developed the field of \"general semantics!' The American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley implemented Korzybski's theory into neuropsychological- psychotherapeutic practical use for the treatment of battle-fatigued soldiers during World War II. DR. DOUGLAS M. KELLEY Kelley graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, received his MD from the School of Medicine in San Francisco and finally was awarded a Doctor of Medical Science in 1941 at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1946, Kelley was appointed Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Bowman-Gray School of Medicine in North Carolina, and in 1949 he was appointed Professor of Criminology at the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr Joseph Melzak, was born in Poland , September 1903 and died in September 1972 in Haifa, Israel. He joined the Polish army in the First World War. He studied medicine after the world war and became a neurologist. He was trained by the father of Polish neurology, Prof Edward Flatau (1868- 1932). During the second world war Joseph escaped from Poland . joined the Polish free army which became part of the British 8th army. He worked as a physician and surgeon in the British army in Italy and in Palestine. After the war he came to the UK and worked in the field of neuro-rehabilitation and eventually settled at Stoke Mandeville Hospital , and worked under the father of the comprehensive rehabilitation of the spinally injured: Sir Ludwig Guttmann (1899-1980). He retired from the National Health Service in the UK and immigrated to Israel, and worked for Community Health Organization, in Haifa. His academic publications are well known to those who work with spinal cord injuries.