Rehabilitation therapy based on yoga is one of the alternatives applied in Holguin province for the treatment of Spinocerebellar Ataxia type II (SCA2), a degenerative and incurable disease with high prevalence in the territory.
Tania Yanet Ávila Cantallops, head of the Rehabilitation Department of the General Directorate of Public Health in the province, told ACN that these relaxation exercises make it possible to improve disorders associated with the pathology, such as the coordination of balance and eye movements, among the main manifestations of the disease.
She emphasized that this therapy is combined with exercises, psychological and nutritional counseling, which contribute to the quality of life of the patients and guide the families carrying the gene, through diagnostic studies in spite of the limitations of resources and reagents.
She also stated that language therapies and the development of communication skills, deteriorated as a consequence of the most severe phases of SCA2, are also taken into account.
The expert pointed out that these options are of vital importance for patients, because despite the progress of clinical trials and treatments aimed at delaying the onset of the disease, science still does not have a cure for it.
The territory also has the Center for Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias (Cirah), which has a multidisciplinary team specialized in the care and follow-up of these people, he said.
Likewise, health promotion activities are carried out in the municipality of Báguanos, where the highest prevalence rate in Cuba is concentrated, set at 45 patients per 100,000 inhabitants, dedicated to training on the disease, she said.
Mirtha Almaguer, a carrier of the gene and with several patients in her family, among them two of her brothers and her mother, thanked for the careful attention, specifically in terms of orientation about pregnancy and its risks.
SCA2 can appear between two and 65 years of age and for more than two decades, the Cirah, with multiple awards such as the Annual Health Award and publications in high-impact international journals, has been treating some 200 patients a month.
With information by Eileen Esther Molina Fernández – ACN / Translated by Radio Angulo
- Inaugurated local development fair in ExpoHolguin - 26 de April de 2024
- ALBA-TCP has proven its viability for and from the South - 24 de April de 2024
- For a better health service to salute May Day - 24 de April de 2024