the Researches that Zld have appionted have a wealth of experience
Dr Jaime Sasso
Dr. Jaime Sasso: Dr Sasso holds a Biomedical Science Doctorate (PhD) from the
University of Chile focused on clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics of
drugs. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of applied biopharmaceutics and
pharmacokinetics at University San Sebastian and University of Santiago, Chile. He
is a pharmaceutical chemist with over eight years experience with comparative
bioavailability and bioequivalence studies for generic drug development. He
has additional training in good clinical practice and therapeutic drug monitoring
from the Pharmacokinetics Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, University of
Chile. Jaime is assisting Zelda with its various clinical trial designs in Chile.
Ms. Karina Vergara:
Ms Vergara holds a Bachelors degree in Biological Sciences from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a
Master of Science from the University of Barcelona, Spain. Her professional experience has been developed mainly in
universities and scientific institutions in the area of research on eco-social problems linked to natural resources
management. Currently, Karina is Research Coordinator at Daya Foundation and is assisting Zelda with in-country
approvals, co-ordination and logistics for its clinical trial programme.
The above key people are leaders in their fields of scientific expertise and have extensive knowledge of regulatory
requirements and logistics in Chile, which assists Zelda in fast tracking its clinical research programme.
Gisela Kuester, Director of Research and Clinical Studies of Fundación Daya "Traditional medicine is not giving the right care and support to the patient"
Interview with Dr. Gisela Kuester, Neurologist and Neurophysiologist Clinic, specialist in Epilepsy and Electroencephalography, Adjunct Professor of Neurology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile, and Director of Research and Clinical Studies at Daya Foundation.
She participated as an exhibitor in the II Seminar of Medicinal Cannabis held at the Former National Congress of Santiago, with the paper "Medicinal Cannabis in Refractory Epilepsy and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Clinical Experience in Chile." In his presentation he called on health professionals to join this therapy and to be informed of the growing evidence of its effectiveness in various pathologies. He also called on his colleagues to stop authoritarianism and listen to what patients and their families report as lack of efficacy or adverse effects of synthetic medicines. What did you think of the Second Seminar on Medicinal Cannabis?
I found the organization and quality of the national and international guests to be excellent. There were very different aspects regarding the endocannabinoid system and related pathologies. The face-to-face story of two Daya Foundation patients successfully treated with medical cannabis was very valuable. In addition, the term of the event with the testimony of the mothers of MamáCultiva de Chile and Argentina, and Cultivando Esperanza de Colombia was very moving. Sincerely, it is the strength of these mothers that revitalizes the motivation that we all have who work at Fundación Daya. In his view, why is medical cannabis a human rights issue?
Because it relieves pain and human suffering in various difficult to manage medical conditions. This results in a significant improvement in the quality of life of the patient and their family environment. It is known that 90% of patients in palliative care does not receive effective therapy to calm their pain, so that their last days live with very poor quality of life. On the other hand, 30% of patients with epilepsy fail to adequately control their seizures with available drugs and very few can access surgical therapies, since they are very expensive. Therefore, many patients suffer from disability, school and work marginalization, and also confinement, among other consequences. Thus,
Dr. Kuester exposing at the last Congress of Epileptology in Prague What would you say to doctors who do not accompany their patients with a cannabis-based treatment?
In many cases the doctor does not know how and when to administer medicinal cannabis. In such cases, the ideal is that the professional give the patient to doctors trained in the use of this therapy. What is not acceptable is that if a patient wishes to access this type of treatment their doctor openly opposes and gives incorrect information regarding its effectiveness and adverse effects. Nor is it ethical to refuse to continue to see a patient because their choice is this. No doctor has the right to oppose the informed decision of a patient or their parents when they are acting under the legal framework in force in the country.
It is an irrefutable fact that traditional medicine in Chile is not giving adequate attention (very little evaluation time, poor medical-patient relationship, partial and non-integral vision of patients' health problems, polypharmacy abuse, etc.) nor the support or containment required by patients and their families. In addition, in many cases, traditional medicine has no other therapeutic alternatives to offer patients, so denying this option, which has excellent results, is against human rights and against the principles of well-being primacy and autonomy of the patient. What is your view of the increased discussion on medical cannabis in South America?
At the first Medical Cannabis Seminar in December 2015, I pointed out that what was happening in Europe, Canada, the United States and Uruguay with the legalization of medical cannabis seemed like a small epidemic. This year we have seen more states have been added in the USA that have legalized it and the same has happened in Australia, Puerto Rico and Colombia, among others. At the same time, this process has extended from Chile to the rest of America. In Argentina, with the support of MamáCultiva, the progress of medical cannabis has been fabulous in a few months, in circumstances and in a context that was so adverse, which is really shocking. In Colombia there are groups of growers and some health professionals who are already working hard in the medical use of cannabis. The same will continue to happen in other nations. For now, there are many patients who travel to take care of us because in their countries they can not access this medicine based on self-cultivation, as in Bolivia, Peru or Brazil. However, in those places, mothers, patients themselves and some brave doctors are playing a key role in raising the voice and putting the issue on the agenda of governments and parliamentarians to achieve the legalization of medical cannabis.
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Fundación Daya es una organización sin fines de lucro cuyo objetivo es la investigación y promoción de terapias alternativas orientadas a aliviar el sufrimiento humano, como asimismo colaboramos y asesoramos en el diseño de políticas públicas que promuevan el bienestar físico y espiritual de las personas. Noticias
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