Cuba to create a food against Alzheimer's disease

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 17 (ACN) In order to guarantee the elderly some necessary substances in the organism to fight the Alzheimer's disease, Cuban experts are working on the elaboration of a type of functional food from ingredients obtained in the country and favorable in the prevention and support to the therapy of the disease.

The project is led by Claudio Rodríguez Martínez, a senior biotechnologist at the National Center for Biopreparations (BioCen), an institution belonging to the BioCubaFarma Business Group and located in the province of Mayabeque.

This product is a nutraceutical and, although it is not a drug, the efficacy of its elements has been demonstrated in animals, with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, evidence of cognitive improvement, triglyceride and cholesterol reduction, the Doctor of Science told the press.

According to the Senior Researcher, in its final composition this variant will be easy to swallow and its sources are one hundred percent natural; in addition, it uses nanotechnology to mask flavors and textures and combine several elements without making it unpleasant to the palate.

He added that this proposal is supported by a technological research on product development and an epidemiological study in the municipalities of Bejucal and Santa Cruz del Norte (Mayabeque) and Baracoa (Guantánamo), on the prevalence of the disease and the factors associated with it.

This last inquiry covers more than 200 indicators such as food consumed, in what frequency and quantity; characteristics of daily life, whether sedentary or the practice of sports and social activities; symptoms associated with the disease, comorbidities and family history, among other risk factors, he said.

Rodríguez Martínez mentioned as partial results that the prevalence of the disease in Baracoa is lower compared to Santa Cruz, and in that territory it is lower than in Bejucal, which is related to different eating habits.

Currently, he added, the team is preparing the invention patent of the nutraceutical to present it in Cuba and then abroad; at the same time, they are waiting for certain investments in agriculture and the food industry in order to obtain the final sources and be able to produce it at an industrial level.

The also member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences pointed out that they are waiting for the beginning of the mass production of the components in order to establish the definitive formulation, and for its scaling up they count on the support of the National Center for Scientific Research and other productive chains.

The scientists also partnered with the University of Informatics Sciences and came up with an application, which initially had the objective of collecting the data of the study, but they discovered its potential in the presumptive diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, since it is very difficult to confirm it.

Rodríguez Martínez commented that they are about to register the web application at the Cuban Industrial Property Office, which will help to dispel doubts about this condition, suffered by more than 300 people in every municipality of the nation.

As part of the same project, they are working on the development of a drug for the treatment of this neurodegenerative disease, which is the most prevalent in Cuba and there is no effective way to stop its progression.