viernes, 16 de enero de 2009

Cuba’s Scientific Achievements Acknowledged on National Science Day

CIEGO DE AVILA, Cuba, Jan 15 (acn) National Science Day was marked in Cuba today with a meeting to acknowledge the advancement made in the sector.

The national meeting to mark the date was held in this central province with the participation of Fernando Gonzalez Bermudez, acting minister of science, technology and environment (CITMA).

The minister highlighted the achievements made in 2008, in particular in the exports of the biotechnology and medical-pharmaceutical industries and also in the replacement of imports with local production.

Among the major results is the registration of the Interferon-Gamma recombinant vaccine for the treatment of the rheumatoid arthritis in young persons, resistant tuberculosis, atypical lung bacterium, among other conditions, said Gonzalez Bermudez.

Likewise, he mentioned the conclusion of the first stage of the clinical trials on a therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of lesions leading to uterine cervix and prostate cancer. In both cases the results were very satisfactory, said the minister.

The Cuban scientific community has the great challenge of further contributing to the economic recovery of the country and to the sustainable development in food production, health, housing construction and other sectors, said CITMA’s acting minister.

More than 100 scientific and technological projects are being carried out in Ciego de Avila, most of them related to agriculture, the protection of natural resources and the use of renewable energy sources.

Reconocen quehacer de comunidad científica cubana Lubia Ulloa Trujillo

First Defibrillating Pacemaker Implanted in Cuban Province

HOLGUIN, Cuba, Jan 15 (acn) The first permanent defibrillating pacemaker implanted in Cuba outside Havana is carried by Alvaro Morgado Martínez, an 82-year old patient from Holguin who suffers from a malignant heart condition.

Morgado's surgery was recently performed at the Vladimir Ilich Lenin hospital in the eastern city of Holguin by Cuban cardiologists Elier Ricardo and Roberto Zayas. After the successful operation the patient was released from the hospital and is now successfully recovering at home.

Dr. Ricardo told the press that such a procedure had been only performed in Havana's Cardiology Institute of Havana previously.

Permanent defibrillating heart pacemakers detect heart arrhythmias and automatically treat them with electrical shocks avoiding the patient's death by restoring the cardiac rhythm.

The implant of each pacemaker, which is performed at no cost to the Cuban patient, is valued from 8 to 12,000 Euros, including the surgical procedure and the pre- and post-surgery care.

Lorenzo Llerena, president of the Cuban Cardiology Society, said the implant of the first automatic defibrillator in Holguin shows the steady development in the specialty reached in the province.

Implantado en Holguín primer marcapaso desfibrilador