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Presidential reelection is once more a focal point in Latin American constitutional law. The amendment to the 2010 Dominican Constitution, approved in October 2024, modifies the presidential term to bar future changes that would permit unlimited presidential reelection. This reform opposes the populist trend that argues for the people’s unconditional right to reelect the incumbent president, as witnessed in Venezuela and Chile. However, as cases like El Salvador demonstrate, constitutional design may be insufficient to deter abusive interpretations by constitutional courts.

Scholarship on deportation makes it clear that deportations are painful and have severe consequences for deportees and their family members. However, there is relatively little scholarship on how post-deportation experiences vary from one national context to another. Drawing on 81 interviews with Dominican and Brazilian deportees, we argue that post-deportation experiences are shaped by macro-, meso-, and micro-level factors. Micro-level factors include individual characteristics, such as acculturation and human capital. Meso-level factors include national and transnational ties. Macro-level factors include the context of reception - the social and economic conditions into which deportees are received. We put forward a framework that both highlights these factors and shows how they are interdependent. The more adverse the context of reception, the more likely that deported people rely on other factors, such as transnational ties or human capital. Dominican deportees face stigmatisation from government and society, and, thus, depend more on transnational ties and their own resilience. In contrast, Brazilian deportees encounter a friendlier context, meaning that those deportees with more local ties and human capital are able to reintegrate with fewer challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caballo lobo is a form of a spontaneous and uncontrolled possession by spirits that constitutes an important component of popular culture in the Dominican Republic. Those affected by it fall on the ground for the "lack of spiritual power," suffer various motoric dysfunctions and panic seizures, and show "unrestrained behaviour." Once the caballo lobo is diagnosed, the affected, in order to be healed, must come closer to the spirits (misterios), learn how to handle them and, in some cases, even become their servants. This article concerns possible explanations of this psychological phenomenon as well as presents local forms of therapy. In the conclusive section, the author discusses the individual background of those affected by caballo lobo and the role of cultural factors in psychological disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Case History: In a 27-year-old female German patient severe headache and wandering paresthesias appeared one week after returning from a holiday in the Dominican Republic. After 3 weeks of ongoing symptoms she was admitted to our hospital with the suspicion of an inflammatory or infectious disease of the central nervous system. Upon admission slight stiffness of the neck, fever (38.2 C) and paresthesias of the right elbow and the right thigh were noticed., Laboratory Findings: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) revealed an eosinophilic pleocytosis. In the acute phase of the disease, antibodies against nematodes were found in CSF, without corresponding antibody-reactivity in serum. In the course levels of nematode antibodies in CSF increased and antibody-reactivity in serum was observed. Thorough investigation for other infectious or inflammatory causes of eosinophilic meningitis revealed no abnormalities., Diagnosis, Treatment and Course: Symptoms, onset within the typical incubation period and the eosinophilic meningitis lead to the diagnosis of a suspected Angiostrongyliasis. Successful treatment was achieved with a combination of oral albendazole and corticosteroids given for 4 weeks., Conclusion: Infection with larvae of Angiostrongylus cantonensis is one of the main causes of eosinophilic meningitis worldwide. Human infection can occur after ingestion of intermediate hosts or contaminated vegetables. Angiostrongyliasis has been endemic to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin and only recently cases from the Caribbean have been described. Headache, paresthesias and the finding of an eosinophilic meningitis in patients returning from tropical or subtropical regions should lead to the suspicion and eventually the treatment of an Angiostrongyliasis.

Background: In the tropic sea there are carnivore fishes, e.g. the "peak bass", that incorporate toxin producing seaweed and can cause the ciguatera intoxication. Due to the frequent tourism to tropic regions even more cases of ciguatera intoxication can be seen in Europe. The late phase of ciguatera intoxication has hardly been recognized due to its different unspecific symptoms. In some cases ciguatera intoxication can even grow a vital threatening., Case Description: Four patients from a travel group addressed us 4 and 14 days after breaking off their holidays in the Dominican republic. They presented complex neurological symptoms including paraesthesia, nervousness, inverse temperature perception, muscle cramps, headache and dizziness. The physical and apparative investigation of the patients, whose age ranked between 22 and 31 years, was totally unobtrusive. Essential for the diagnosis of ciguatera intoxication was the clue to the symptom causing dinner at their holiday location existing of "peak bass and lemon sauce". First symptoms in all members of the travel group were diarrhea, sickness and sweating. In this late phase only a symptomatic therapy could be offered., Conclusion: The here described cases show the importance of a comprehensive information for tropic travellers as for physicians accounted to in the acute phase of ciguatera intoxication, because recognized early enough (within the first 24 hours) the total symptomatology of ciguatera intoxication can be prevented effectively by intravenous infusions of mannitol.

Ten Indian skulls from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, respectively, have been examined anthropologically. Three of these skulls are from adolescent individuals, the remaining seven from adult ones. Four skulls were artificially deformed (tabular obliqua type). Out of the seven adult skulls five are male, two probably female. The measurements and indices are mostly within the variation range of hitherto already known values from these regions. Considering all factors one can see a population having relatively short, median wide and in general low skulls, which are also characterized by low to median cranial capacities. The face is dominated by high orbitae. The cheek bones are median wide, compared to other South American groups. The nose is often short. Its width is differing whereas, however, narrow to median wide nasal openings are prevailing. For the present it is not possible to differentiate this skull material either regionally or chronologically.