NeuroEpo (Cuba)

What is it?

NeuroEpo (brand name NeuralCIM) is a variant of the body's own hormone erythropoietin, or EPO for short, which is best known as a doping agent. The Cuban form was modified so that it hardly stimulates blood formation anymore and is mainly meant to protect nerve cells: against cell death, oxidative stress and inflammation. It is given through the nose, which you can do yourself, so that it reaches the brain as directly as possible through the olfactory nerves.

NeuroEpo is made at the Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM) in Havana, and treatment takes place at CIREN, the International Center for Neurological Restoration. It is not approved outside of Cuba.

What does the research say?

The evidence is thin and comes almost entirely from Cuba:

• A study with 26 early-stage patients and a placebo group showed that NeuroEpo is well tolerated. Mental abilities improved, and the higher the dose, the stronger the improvement, with measurable changes in the EEG (Frontiers in Neuroscience 2022). The authors call the results preliminary. After six months, there was no measurable effect on motor function.
• In Alzheimer's, there is a larger Cuban study with a placebo group (ATHENEA, 2023): 174 patients received NeuroEpo or placebo through the nose three times a week for 48 weeks. With NeuroEpo, memory test scores improved slightly; with placebo, they got worse. Side effects were rare (Alzheimer's Research & Therapy 2023).
• There are no large, independent studies on its effect on motor function in Parkinson's. In Canada, a study in Alzheimer's was announced in 2023.

Canada, as of 2026: The announced trial is now registered. The University of Saskatchewan plans to give 90 people with Alzheimer's NeuroEpo or a placebo through the nose three times a week (phase 2). At last update it was not yet recruiting; completion is planned for 2030 (ICH GCP, NCT07178678). A Parkinson's trial is not part of it.

My experience

From November 14 to December 5, 2022, I was at CIREN in Havana. I received NeuroEpo three times a week, plus four hours of physical therapy every day for two weeks. I had no side effects.

My sense of smell improved clearly after the very first dose, my left arm swung along again when I walked, and my walking became smoother. How much of this came from NeuroEpo and how much from the physical therapy cannot be separated. My neurologist also noted that my sense of smell and motor function improved once more afterward.

In September 2024 I spent a second two weeks at CIREN. I still take NeuroEpo today, partly with breaks, currently on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays through the nose. My supply will last until about early 2027. Whether I can get more after that is uncertain.

Effort and costs

• The treatment at CIREN cost me about 13,000 euros, not including the flight (CIREN prices).
• NeuroEpo is only available with a prescription in Cuban pharmacies. Most recently, one dose cost about 100 US dollars. With a schedule of three times a week for three weeks, then one week off, that comes to about 900 US dollars a month.
• The full effect only shows after about two months, and if you stop, the symptoms probably come back.
• Getting it is complicated and has become even harder because of the US sanctions against Cuba.

Calculated over three years, with treatment, travel and ongoing NeuroEpo, Cuba costs about as much as my stem cell therapy, or more.

My conclusion

NeuroEpo is not a miracle cure, but for me it is an important building block, right after the three most important ones. Its effect is barely proven scientifically, and the route through Cuba is expensive and a lot of effort.