CIREN’s renovates its Scientific Council ... “We believe that lost functions can be recovered”. (Dr. Villa) ... (be continued)

Dr. Emilio Villa assures that the Cuban system allows that a multidisciplinary team under the direction of a neurologist, work from 8 am to 5pm with only one patient.

Juan Jesús Arnárez (EL PAÍS • SALUD Sábado 12 de diciembre de 2009)

As to the characteristics of the Cuban system, the doctor only works in one place. Therefore, it is so possible, that a multidisciplinary team directed by a neurologist, works seven daily hours with one patient. Rehabilitation hours are fundamental, but when the medical payrolls work in many places, this cannot be achieves”.

Parallel to rehabilitation applied surgeries at CIREN are developed with the system called “Stereoflex”, and allows the resection of intracranial lesions and the access to affections related to movement disorders through surgery of minimal access. “The surgery is totally Cuban, as the United States forbids us the access to state-of-the art technology”, affirmed Dr. Villa at a Seminar. Also, neuronal transplants are performed from stem cells to segregate dopamine, whose absence is related to Parkinson’s Disease. Neverthe less, neuroplasticity through an intensive rehabilitation from 8am to 5pm, is the closest link of a center that has started its representation in Spain (www.auroramultiservice.es) and that annually assists about 700 foreign patients, mainly from Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Portugal, Italy and Spain.

Conchi Linares from Seville, shared at a forum the treatment of her, Carlos, I spend 11-years-old son in Cuba. “He improved a lot, but less than other children there as he was already 11 (…). I spend 500 euros so that my son receives a 3-hour-weekly physiotherapy, in spite of the fact that my husband is a foreman by Ángeles Montalván and Antonio Murillo made a tremendous economic effort in order to care for their daughter, who dribbled, did not keep her head traight, did not open her mouth, had her fists closely closed and weighed nine kilos at one and half year.” Fátima learned to eat solid food, to chew and to drink from a glass with a straw”, the parents explained.

But nevertheless, not all the patients are accepted or receive improvement guaranties. “It would be criminal to promise the patient’s family impossible advances. We fisrt evaluate the clinical history and then inform on the possibilities of recovery”, says Villa. “ The key of everything is not to neglect the patient, not to bergain efforts to activate the stock of nervous tissue the human beings have”.