Doctor José Joaquín Puello gives a lecture on Neuropsychophysiology and Neurological Sciences
SANTO DOMINGO. - For him 2050, 120 million de people will Alzheimer, 75% of them in India, China y Latin Americareported the doctor Jose Joaquin Puello Herrera, member founder of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) and Master of Dominican Medicine, when giving the keynote speech “Neuropsychophysiology and Neurological Sciences: Cognitive Neuroscience”.
The neurosurgeon pointed out that currently 40 million of people in the world suffer this disease, which is characterized by being progressive and irreversible, affecting memory, as well as identity and behavior.
"The patient with Alzheimer is conscious, But has no conscience. To put it in more elegant terms, has no soul”, he affirmed, while specifying that there is no gene that characterizes the disease, but said that it was recently discovered that one of the coronavirus genes cause of COVID-19 es "cousin" of the genes of Alzheimer. "That's why 40% of COVID-19 patients have no memory after they leave the hospital," she said.
Puello Herrera stressed that, if a person has a family case of Alzheimer's, they are twice as likely to suffer from the disease, he also said that the professionals most affected by this degenerative pathology are neurosurgeons, at a rate of one in five.
In the activity organized by the Area of Health Sciences of INTEC, as part of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the university, Puello Herrera maintained that the most frequent age to suffer from Alzheimer's is the 65 years, and pointed out that, according to studies, 16 million Americans who took ibuprofen, from 1999 to 2019, have not manifested the disease. He further explained that Alzheimer's should be considered multifactorial, not just biochemical.
At the meeting, which was attended by INTEC Medicine and Psychology students, the renowned doctor indicated that so far the advances in pharmaceuticals for Alzheimer's are disappointing, but said that it has been attributed to the Yerba Santa from California ( Eriodictyon californicum), medicinal plant native to the state of California, United States, properties to reduce the progressivity of the disease.
In the activity, Julio Sanchez Marinez, rector of INTEC, stated that the presence of Puello Herrera was reason for pride for the university, for being one of the founding members of La Colmena, who since 1972 believed in the idea of creating an academic institution with high standards for the training of graduate and postgraduate professionals.
"José Joaquín Puello is an emblematic figure of our university, of the creators of the career of Medicine, who, with his prestige and dedication, allowed society, which at that time had its doubts, to recognize what is today the most prestigious career in Medicine in the country, the only one internationally accredited and recognized for its local and international successes”, Sanchez-Marinez said.
During the conference, Puello Herrera specified that the human brain is unique and unrepeatable, in fact, he emphasized that even in the case of twins or triplets there is no similarity between this organ. He said that when studying the human genome, it was determined that 99% of the genes of man are found in all living beings, and that 75% of the genes of human beings are also found in plants.
He explained that five thousand years ago, when they studied the genome, anthropological findings determined that the human brain took two leaps, causing a change in our genome, acquiring functions that only man has, such as language.
El Dean of the Health Sciences Area, Miguel Robiou, was in charge of reading for the semblance Dr. José Joaquín Puello Herrera. At the end of the presentation, the INTEC authorities presented the Master of Medicine with a plaque in which they recognized his legacy in favor of medicine, both in the Dominican Republic and in the rest of the world.
The activity was attended by the vice-chancellors Alliet Ortega, of Administration and Finance; Arturo del Villar, Academic; Alejandro Montero and Armando Barrios, from Research and Outreach. Also the members of the Board of Regents Franco Gómez, president; José Manuel Santos, Vice President; Jordi Portet, past president, Ricardo Pérez, secretary and Ana Judith Alma, member.
Also Carlos Sanlley, Director of Research; Dalul Ordehi, Dean of the Area of Social Sciences and Humanities; Manuel Peña, dean of the Economics and Business Area; Fernando Santamaría, academic coordinator of the Health Sciences Area; Rosario Almanzar, coordinator of the Pediatric department; Susana Guerrero, coordinator of the Psychiatry department; Vicente Liz, professor of the chair of psychiatry; Nadja Garcia Joa, BioINTEC committee institutional coordinator, and Penélope Brito, teaching psychiatrist.
About Dr. Puello Herrera
Dr. Puello Herrera was born in San Juan de la Maguana, on September 25, 1940. Besides being an eminent neurosurgeon doctor, has stood out as a politician, teacher and athlete.
He entered the School of Medicine of the then University of Santo Domingo, currently the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), in 1962 he won the Obstetrics and Gynecology award as a medical student. In 1963 he graduated as a doctor of medicine magna cum laude.
Between 1964 and 1971 he studied several postgraduate courses at institutions such as the Bambury General Hospital (attached to the University of Oxford, England), where he became a general surgeon; postgraduate studies in Neurosurgery and General Surgery at Churchill Hospital, University of Oxford, England (1964-65); postgraduate studies in neurosurgery, at Radclife Hospital, University of Oxford, England (1965-66).
Also, from 1966-1967 he was awarded a scholarship by the Bristh Council for studies in Clinical Neurology, Neuro-anatomy, Electro-myography and Electroencephalography, at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases (Institute of Neurosurgery of the University of London, England); From 1967 to 1969 he studied Neurosurgery as Chief Resident at Radcliffe Infirmary University of Oxford and Cardiff Royal Infirmary University of Wales.
Between 1969 and 1970 he concluded his tenure as head of residents at the University of Wales and returned to the Department of Neuropathies at the University of Oxford, and in 1971 he specialized in Micro Neurology at the University of Vermont, United States of America.
His commitment to teaching began in 1970 as Professor of Neuroanatomy at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. He has been Professor of Clinical Neurosurgery at the Pedro Henriquez Ureña National University and of Neuroanatomy and Neurosurgery at the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo.
He has provided services as Neurosurgeon at the Dr. Salvador B. Gautier Hospital, at the Dr. Luis Eduardo Aybar Hospital, the Dr. Enrique Lithgow Ceara Military Hospital, the Dr. Ramón de Lara Military Hospital, at the Dr. Robert Reid Children's Hospital , at the Diabetes Hospital and at the Rodríguez Santos, Yunén, Naco Polyclinic, Gómez Patiño and Alcántara & González clinics. He currently directs the Cardiology, Ophthalmology and Neurosurgery Center of the Dr. Luis Aybar health city.
He is Co-founder of the Valve Bank for hydrocephalic children in the Dominican Republic. He has carried out more than 60 scientific research works that he has published in national and foreign journals or shared at conferences inside and outside our country. He has received multiple awards such as Distinguished Son of the Municipality of San Juan de la Maguana, the Order of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella in the degree of Knight, Master of Neurological Surgery, Foreign Member of the British Society of Neurosurgeons, Distinguished as Doctor Honoris Cause of the UASD. Master of Dominican Medicine by the Dominican Medical College. Decorated with the Francisco Hernandez Order by the Pan American Federation of Faculties and Schools of Medicine, FEPAFEM, for his lifetime contributions to medical education.
Dr. Puello Herrera was president of the Dominican Olympic Committee from 1982 to 2003, and of the Organizing Committee of the Pan American Games held in Santo Domingo in 2003. He was also a member of the Medical Commission of the International Olympic Committee and in 2014 he declared Immortal of Dominican Sport.