Cuba Begins Clinical Trials to Delay Progress of Alzheimer's

Cuba will conduct a clinical trial with a drug developed in the island to work toward a more effective treatment for Alzheimer’s patients, another leading science breakthrough for the socialist nation, local media reported Monday.

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The drug NeuroEpo was developed by scientific institutions in Cuba, and its tests are expected to reduce the signs and side effects of the disease and improve patients' quality of life.

The Center for Molecular Immunology in Havana will begin to apply the medicine to patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, according to research specialists cited by Granma.

According to researcher Leslie Perez Ruiz, the test will be the first time the drug has been used for people and the component has shown to have a neuroprotective effect.

She added that NeuroEpo doesn't prevent or eliminate Alzheimer's, but the preclinical results are encouraging to help change the course of the disease and slow the deterioration process.

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"Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease that doesn't stop, it will advance. What we want is to help delay that degenerative process and improve the quality of life of that person, and the family," Perez Ruiz told Granma.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease in people over 60 years old and the sixth leading cause of death in Cuba, according to Jorge Llibre Guerra, a specialist at the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery.

In the world, there are currently about 300 clinical trials in progress regarding Alzheimer's disease.