Blockade of Cuba Hinders Study of Hereditary Ataxias

As is the case across the country’s healthcare services, the supply of medications and diagnostic tools in the province of Holguin is severely affected by the U.S. blockade against Cuba. This situation impacts patients suffering from spinocerebellar ataxias, as well as their descendants who are at risk.

The hereditary nature of spinocerebellar ataxias, which are passed down from generation to generation within certain Cuban families. It poses a risk to a large number of descendants. Notably, this condition reaches its highest global prevalence in Cuba.

Currently, the prevalence of this disease in Holguin is approximately 47 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Whereas globally, the rate is only one to five cases per 100,000 people.

Consequently, it is very common for at-risk descendants to seek out the Center for the Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias. Also to determine whether they can have children without the risk of them inheriting the condition.

This can be achieved through prenatal diagnosis, a specialized procedure that was available for some years. But is now halted due to the limitations imposed by the blockade against Cuba. Which effectively prevents the acquisition of the necessary resources to perform it.

According to the institution’s director, Dr. Jaqueline Medrano Montero (PhD), prenatal diagnosis is a vital test that was previously offered to couples affected by, or at risk of carrying, ataxia. However, with the intensification of the blockade, it has become impossible to procure the necessary equipment, supplies, and reagents for these studies. A situation that could lead to the birth of children who carry the mutation.

Likewise, it is extremely difficult for the center to perform quantitative diagnostics of molecular alterations. Given the lack of necessary equipment. Such as a PCR machine and a DNA sequencer, both of which are essential for determining the exact size of a mutation.

Although some may consider the U.S. blockade, which that government has persisted in maintaining against Cuba for decades. A worn-out topic, the reality is that it has a negative impact on countless sectors. With public health being, unfortunately, one of the most severely affected.

Maylín Betancourt Verdecia
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