Cuba Is Breaking New Ground in Developing Drug Treatments
Cuba has developed its own infrastructure for producing medical treatments that has a remarkable track record despite the US blockade and other material constraints. One new drug has the potential to alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
Still from Teresita’s Dream. (Belly of the Beast)
Teresita’s Dream: Cuba’s Battle Against Alzheimer’s is a modest film about a drug for Alzheimer’s disease that breaks new ground in more than one respect. First of all, because the drug has been developed in Cuba, which is no mean feat. Second, because of its own unusual character as a documentary about the development of a drug.
Produced by Belly of the Beast, a Cuban-US media collective, Teresita’s Dream is narrated by Dr Teresita Rodríguez Obaya, a biotech research scientist whose mother suffered from Alzheimer’s. She has been instrumental in developing the new treatment and gives us her own story of the how and why.
Treating Dementia
I found this to be a heartening story, which brings together my long-standing involvement with Cuba and my more recent concern with Alzheimer’s, after first a cousin and then my brother were afflicted by the disease.
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