October 8, 2026 — Belly of the Beast
When Massachusetts-based musician and activist Ben Grosscup learned his mother had Alzheimer’s, he turned to Cuba for help.
Grosscup traveled to Havana to obtain NeuralCIM, a Cuban treatment for Alzheimer’s that has shown promising results in slowing the disease’s progression.
Our documentary Teresita’s Dream tells the story of how Cuban scientist Dr. Teresita Rodríguez helped develop the treatment while caring for her mother, who had Alzheimer’s.
NeuralCIM is not available in the United States, and given U.S. hostility toward Cuba, that is unlikely to change anytime soon. However, people from the United States and other parts of the world are coming to the island to seek treatment for themselves and their family members.
Bill Blanchet, a doctor from Colorado, has more than 70 patients who are taking the medication.
“We have 7 million people in the United States who need to be on this medication,” Blanchet said in an interview we did with him this year in Havana. “I’m seeing with my own eyes, in my own clinic, ongoing improvement in these patients that is just inspiring.”
Grosscup says his family is hopeful the treatment can prevent a more serious deterioration in his mother’s condition.
But what began as a deeply personal search also forced him to understand the consequences of U.S. policy toward Cuba in a new way.
“I’ve always looked at [Cuba] as a solidarity activist,” Grosscup said. “But this is an instance where it’s so incredibly clear that the policy of the blockade is harming my own family.”
Cuba’s ability to produce NeuralCIM and other medications has been constrained by the U.S. government’s economic war on the island.
“There’s an oil blockade right now, and that blockade limits what level of production can happen here,” he said. “There’s no way for Cuba to meet the global demand for Alzheimer’s with its existing production capacity.”
