History of Latin American Dermatology

JOSÉ G. DÍAZ ALMEIDA, ALFREDO ABREU DANIELFigure 10. Left to right:Professors AndrésValdés Alvariño, JoséDíaz de la Rocha, JoséDíaz Almeida, José de J.Arvelo, VicenteMenéndez García,Alfredo Abreu DanielFigure 11. José G.Díaz AlmeidaFigure 12.Dermatologistsparticipating inscientific activitiesA training course for dermatologists on rehabilitationand prevention of disabilities in leprosy patients,coordinated by Dr. José M. Pereira, was held on June14 through 19, 1976, at the “Ambrosio Grillo” ClinicalSurgical Hospital in Santiago de Cuba.The Second National Seminar on Epidemiology andControl of Venereal Diseases, of great importance forDermatology by virtue of the subject matter of the workshopsheld, took place in late 1976; dermatologists andepidemiologists from around the country took part.In 1977, the new Leprosy Control Program cameinto force, in which rifampicin was included as maindrug for the treatment of the disease.Also in 1977, Dr. Alfredo Abreu was appointed Leprosy Consultant to the WHO, advisingAsian and African countries on their programs for the control of the disease. At alater date he was appointed as a member of WHO’s Panel of Leprosy Experts.In 1979, during the unfolding of the First National Congress of Dermatology in the cityof Cienfuegos, Drs. Carlos Miyares Cao and Manuel Táboas announced the results of theirexperimental and clinical study of the epidermic pigmenting effect of human placentalextract, known under the name of melagenin, for the treatment of vitiligo (Figure 12).On May 12, 1980, the awards were received on the “250 th Anniversary of the Universityof Havana” with medals to Dermatology professors Guillermo Fernández Hernández-Baquero,Bartolomé Sagaró, José Díaz Almeida and Fernando Fernández. In June,Dr. Alfredo Abreu was chosen President of the Cuban Society of Dermatology.The Ameijeiras Brothers Clinical Surgical Hospital was opened in the city of Havanain 1982, with a Dermatology Service led Prof. Bartolomé Sagaró.The Second National Congress of Dermatology was held in 1983 in the province ofSantiago de Cuba; Dr. Abreu was re-elected President of the Society.In 1984, a new model for medical treatment wascreated, incorporating the family physician and nursein all consulting rooms; this entailed positive modificationsin the form, content and practice of medical treatment,and on this level the dermatological training ofthese professionals is of great importance because ofthe incidence and prevalence of skin diseases amongthe population.On July 24, 1984, a Psoriasis Clinic opened in the localityof Santa María del Mar, founded by Prof. Baquero,with Prof. Marta Cortés as first director.In 1985 the Scientific Degrees Commission of theMinistry for Higher Education awarded the degree ofdoctors in Sciences to professors Fernández Hernández-Baqueroand Bartolomé Sagaró. At a later date it was received by professors JoséDíaz Almeida, Pedro Regalado Ortiz, Julián Manzur and Rafael Grillo.In 1986 the Public Health Ministry, through the Higher Institute for Medical Sciencesof Havana, instituted the program for the study course in Dermatology across the country,establishing, as a teaching strategy, short-stay activities — one of them in PediatricDermatology — with a duration of three weeks.Likewise that year, a new edition was issued of the textbook on the subject by Prof.Baquero and collaborators. In July Prof. Marta Cortés obtained the rank of Doctor inMedical Sciences at the Dermatological Institute in Moscow, becoming the first dermatologistto defend a scientific degree abroad.158