<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?><article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id>1029-3019</journal-id>
<journal-title><![CDATA[MEDISAN]]></journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title><![CDATA[MEDISAN]]></abbrev-journal-title>
<issn>1029-3019</issn>
<publisher>
<publisher-name><![CDATA[Centro Provincial de Información de Ciencias Médicas]]></publisher-name>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id>S1029-30192022000500011</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title xml:lang="es"><![CDATA[El desafío de la neuropatía óptica epidémica cubana]]></article-title>
<article-title xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[The challenge of the Cuban epidemic optic neuropathy]]></article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Fuentes Pelier]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Damaris]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Santiesteban Freixas]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Rosaralis]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Hodelín Tablada]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Ricardo]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Romero García]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Lázaro Ibrahim]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
</contrib-group>
<aff id="Af1">
<institution><![CDATA[,Hospital General Docente Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas Alfonso  ]]></institution>
<addr-line><![CDATA[Santiago de Cuba ]]></addr-line>
<country>Cuba</country>
</aff>
<aff id="Af2">
<institution><![CDATA[,Instituto de Neurología y Neurocirugía Profesor Dr. Rafael Estrada González  ]]></institution>
<addr-line><![CDATA[La Habana ]]></addr-line>
<country>Cuba</country>
</aff>
<aff id="Af3">
<institution><![CDATA[,Hospital Provincial Clínico-Quirúrgico Docente Saturnino Lora  ]]></institution>
<addr-line><![CDATA[Santiago de Cuba ]]></addr-line>
<country>Cuba</country>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="pub">
<day>00</day>
<month>10</month>
<year>2022</year>
</pub-date>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>00</day>
<month>10</month>
<year>2022</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>26</volume>
<numero>5</numero>
<copyright-statement/>
<copyright-year/>
<self-uri xlink:href="http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&amp;pid=S1029-30192022000500011&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><self-uri xlink:href="http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&amp;pid=S1029-30192022000500011&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><self-uri xlink:href="http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_pdf&amp;pid=S1029-30192022000500011&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><abstract abstract-type="short" xml:lang="es"><p><![CDATA[RESUMEN A partir del trienio 1989-1991 la economía cubana comenzó a debilitarse por la caída de los precios del azúcar y el petróleo, así como por el descenso de la cotización del dólar americano y la desintegración de la Unión Soviética, que trajo aparejada la carencia de divisas convertibles, combustibles, alimentos, y además imposibilitó la solicitud de créditos a instituciones financieras internacionales. Se inició, así, el llamado «período especial», fundamentado en un plan para enfrentar un posible bloqueo militar en tiempos de paz, y durante el cual fueron racionalizados estrictamente los alimentos y disminuyeron las industrias esenciales y el transporte. En tales circunstancias apareció una rara enfermedad que se convirtió en epidemia, la cual fue nombrada neuropatía óptica epidémica cubana; esta afectó a más de 50 000 cubanos y se convirtió en un verdadero desafío para la comunidad médica del país. Al respecto, en el presente artículo se analizan sucesos históricos relacionados con el surgimiento de dicha oftalmopatía, se defiende la teoría de su causa tóxico-nutricional debido a la situación de Cuba en aquel momento y se destaca el liderazgo del Comandante en Jefe Fidel en la conducción de las acciones multidisciplinarias que llevaron a controlar dicha epidemia, lo que resultó un logro para el Sistema Nacional de Salud y un triunfo de la Revolución cubana.]]></p></abstract>
<abstract abstract-type="short" xml:lang="en"><p><![CDATA[ABSTRACT Since the triennium 1989-1991 the Cuban economy began to weaken due to the fall of sugar and petroleum prices, as well as due to the descent in the rate of the American dollar and due to the disintegration of the Soviet Union that brought the lack of convertible foreign currencies, fuels, foods, and disabled the application of credits to international financial institutions. This way, began the so call "special period", based in a plan to face a possible military blockade in times of peace, and during which foods were strictly rationalized and the essential industries and transport diminished. In such circumstances a strange disease appeared that became epidemic, which was named Cuban epidemic optic neuropathy; it affected more than 50 000 Cubans and became a true challenge for the medical community of the country. In this respect, historical events related to the emergence of this ophtalmopathy are analyzed in this work, that defends the theory of its toxic-nutritional cause due to the situation of Cuba in that moment and the leadership of Commander in Chief Fidel is outstanding in the conduction of the multidisciplinary actions that lead to control this epidemic, what became an achievement for the Health National System and a victory of the Cuban Revolution.]]></p></abstract>
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<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[ambliopía]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[tabaquismo]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[alcoholismo]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[neuritis óptica]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[Cuba]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[amblyopia]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[nicotine addiction]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[alcoholism]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[optic neuritis]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[Cuba]]></kwd>
</kwd-group>
</article-meta>
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