In order to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the drug NeuralCIM, a clinical trial was carried out in the provincial general teaching hospitals Doctor Antonio Luaces Iraola, from Ciego de Ávila, and Roberto Rodríguez Fernández, from Morón, with the participation of patients diagnosed with mild or moderate Alzheimer's.

NeuralCIM, the trade name for recombinant human erythropoietin (NeuroEPO), was created by researchers at the Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM), and is designed to slow the progress of Alzheimer's in the early stages of the disease.

A total of 1,456 people will be included in the study, which covers most of the country.

More than 10 patients from Ciego de Ávila, affected with the amnestic Alzheimer's phenotype, will participate in the clinical trial of the Cuban drug NeuralCIM, whose third phase began in the last days of February throughout the country.

Yulemis Pinto Cruz, coordinator of Clinical Research at "Luaces Iraola", explained that around 150 patients have been evaluated in multidisciplinary consultations in the territory, although only 30 of them met the requirements to be included in the clinical trial.

Regardless of whether or not the patient meets the required standards, their case is followed up by geriatric consultations, their condition is diagnosed, the family receives information and, in a general sense, a dementia care service is offered that previously did not exist in a unified way in Ciego de Ávila, added Pinto Cruz.

Giselle Veguilla Alomar, coordinator of Clinical Trials of the Provincial Health Directorate, highlighted the enormous interest that the study has aroused in the population of Ciego de Ávila, especially among relatives of older adults who begin to manifest symptoms such as memory loss.

In addition to those who go to the authorized consultations, the professionals who guarantee the study also receive numerous phone calls from people who hear about the study and ask how to include a loved one there.

Pinto Cruz assured that no significant adverse effects have been reported during the application of NeuralCIM by nasal drops, which indicates that the drug has a good chance of obtaining the sanitary registry of the Center for the State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (Cecmed).

Ana Rosa Valls Hung, representative of the CIM for the provinces of Ciego de Ávila and Camagüey, expressed the interest that exists in the approval of the NeuralCIM by Cecmed, as a step prior to its commercialization at a national and international level.

If it shows the expected results, this drug would slow down the neurodegenerative process of the disease, since today; there are only treatments to improve some cognitive functions of the patient for a certain period of time.

According to data from the Cuban Academy of Sciences, in the country, one in 10 people over the age of 65 has some type of dementia, mostly related to Alzheimer's.