Visit of UK Scientists to Holguin Concludes

The academic visit of scientists from University College London concluded this Friday in the province of Holguin with a tour of the municipality of Baguanos. The area with the highest incidence of spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) in Cuba.

This municipality in Holguin has a high number of diagnosed patients and families carrying the gene. Also who therefore receive systematic follow-up from experts. As was revealed this Friday during the closing of the academic meeting.

Yanexy Pérez González, head of the Science and Technology Department at the University of Medical Sciences of Holguin (UCMHo). She explained to the Cuban News Agency (CNA) the relevance of this exchange for the development of new therapies for the disease.

Moreover she indicated that the scientific meeting also offered the opportunity to conduct genetic evaluations of patients who already have a clinical and molecular diagnosis. As well as access to modern technology used in trials for SCA2 which is currently incurable. She highlighted the opportunity for researchers in the fields of Biomedicine, Neurology, and Neuroscience to stay updated on achievements and advances in the study and treatment of conditions. Such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which are also common in the global population.

During the final days of the exchange, which took place from December 8th to 12th. The experts also visited UCMHo and expressed interest in the institution’s projects related to chronic and neurological diseases, among other topics.

During the week, the group conducted clinical evaluations of patients at the Center for Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias and the Lucía Iñiguez Landín Clinical-Surgical Hospital. In addition to presenting the latest studies in the field of neurogenetics.

Among these studies, the one presented by Dr. Luis Almaguer Mederos on the evolution of ataxia stood out. Also as it allows for modeling the symptomatology and onset of the disease for future projects.

University College London is one of the most prestigious institutions in the field of neurodegenerative disorders and counts among its achievements the discovery, for the first time in 1991, of a mutation in the gene that causes Alzheimer’s disease by Dr. John Hardy and his team.

With information from CNA

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