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Third, Cuba is on the cutting edge on many medical technologies
specifically
"...Cuban investigators have developed a technique to implant live nervous cells deep into the brain that cures Parkinson‘s disease. Doctor Julián Alvarez Blanco, Director of the International Center for Neurological Restoration (CIREN), explained that this achievement in Cuban medicine was made due to development of a cutting-edge surgical procedure called stereotaxic surgery (or minimal access surgery), together with the newest techniques of computerized brain mapping and superficial and deep registers of the brain’s electrical activity.
“This technique allows us to precisely implant the generative cells in the affected areas, by means of a cannula with a very small diameter, and with minimum risk for the patient’s life”, said Dr. Alvarez. “Namely, very precise paths have been settled to reach deep brain structures”. We are very proud to be one of the most advanced centers of the world in the neuroscience field”, said the Cuban specialist.
CIREN also gives hope to those who have suffered damage and death of brain cells, which have caused aphasias (difficulties in expression and understanding) due to encephalic accidents, thrombosis, craneoencephalic trauma and hemiplegies. Patients treated at CIREN recover many of the lost functions when they are treated with new neurorestorative methods.
Medical miracles
María José (Pepi) is a young Spanish woman who became prostrated four years ago, not able to eat or talk, after a car accident. Her mother managed to take her to CIREN, where she learned how to swallow and how to connect with the external world again. Pepi improved thus her quality of life.
Hector, a Chilean miner businessman who suffrered an encephalic vascular accident, was taken to Cuba in a stretcher and came back walking when the treatment was finished. The son of a well-known Chilean politician, who suffered a severe neurological accident, improved his quality of life significantly after his treatment at CIREN. When he died, back in Chile, due to other heath problems, he asked for his remains to be taken to Cuba, a wish his family fulfilled.
CIREN is a center for neurological restoration that has also interesting results in the fight against Alzheimer disease. In the institute, they use the ability of one’s own nervous system to regenerate some damaged cells. Doctor Julián Alvarez Blanco explains:
The principles of neurological restoration are based in the well-known ability of the central and peripheral nervous system to repair damage that could have been produced in functionality areas. Generally, the nervous system has a higher number of tissue and cells than what is regularly used, thus, it is possible to fix any partial damage suffered through a systematic work of reactivation and with it, a high percentage of its functionality. There is scientific evidence that neuromotor damage caused by a brain injury of a certain magnitude, can be significantly reduced by stimulating the supletory elements of the subjacent tissue.
In other words, neurological restoration caused by encephalic brain accidents, thrombosis, craneoencephalic traumae and hemiplegy is possible, by stimulating the supletory functions of cell and tissue with drugs, psychological and psychometrical stimuli and muscular or osteomyoarticular system activation, explained Dr. Alvarez.
CIREN has representation in different countries and offers its services internationally, competing with medical centers like Houston, but their rates are lower than their competitors. The institute selects their patients previously, thus, they don’t receive patients considered “lost cases” only to get money from their distressed families, as usually happens in the “health industry”. Maybe the only exception has been the Spanish girl, Pepi, who was rejected several times before, precisely as a “lost case”, whose mother went straight to Dr. Alvarez in a medical congress to ask him for an opportunity to treat her daughter.
Cuba also offers free health services in Latin America and other places of the world. For example, 60 young poor students from Chile will travel this year to study free of charge in the Latin American School of Medicine in the next course starting in September. Thirty man and women have been fairly selected in all the regions of the country, to fill a total of 400 Chilean students that study medicine in Cuba, with a scholarship that includes the studies, food and lodging, and study materials. Until now, 80 young Chileans have become doctors in the isle.
Defeat of Parkinson’s Disease
CIREN has specialized in attacking Parkinson’s disease. That was the line of work in neurological restoration that originally inspired the creation of the center. “Through a stereotaxic surgery, or minimal access surgery, we implant embryonary tissue cells which produce dopamine, in deep areas of the brain “, explained Dr. Alvarez. “It is a proved fact that Parkinson is caused by an inadequate production of dopamine, an essential substance that controls movements in human beings”, he added.
“In this investigation, only patients with primary Parkinson are included, whose disease is not a consequence of vascular problems or of other nature, and in which pharmacological treatment is not effective or causes secondary toxic disorder", specified Dr. Alvarez. “Patients who are treated with this technique are included in an investigation protocol called CAPIT, where several participating countries compare their results internationally.
Dr. Alvarez explained that CIREN has developed cutting-edge surgical procedures, such as stereotaxic surgery (minimal access surgery), computerized brain mapping techniques and superficial and deep registers of the brain’s electrical activity. “Today, this allows us to place generative cells with high precision and implant them exactly in the affected areas, through a cannula of very small diameter, and with minimum risk for the patient’s life”, declared Alvarez. “This means it has been possible to establish very precise paths to reach the deep structures of the brain. We are very proud to be one of the most advanced centers of the world in the neuroscience field”, said the Cuban specialist.
Neurotransplants applied to Parkinson’s patients have been unmistakable successful. They are applied only when the patient doesn’t respond any more to the pharmacological treatments. “It is a proven fact that these transplants considerably diminish medicine consumption and they also improve the quality of life of these patients, who can immediately resume their normal activities without the great limitations caused by the disease.
The success of neurotransplants in Parkinson’s patients is also a consequence of the use of stereotaxic surgery and the Cuban improvement of the technologies of brain computerized mapping and register and digitalization of electrical signals in the deep areas of the brain.
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