“Educate on epilepsy at primary level”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 30, 2010



“Educate on epilepsy at primary level”

Staff Reporter

TIRUCHI: There is an immediate need to educate general practitioners in primary and secondary health care centres on treatment of epilepsy, said K.Radhakrishnan, President of the Indian Academy of Neurology.
“Around 70 per cent of epileptic patients are in rural India while almost all neurologists are concentrated in the cities. Consequently basic neurology treatment is meted out by primary and secondary health care centres, resulting in mismanagement,” he said.
Speaking to The Hindu here on Sunday , Dr.Radhakrishnan said studies have revealed that addressing epilepsy at the primary centre level could control 70 percent of epileptic cases.
Multifaceted approach
He stressed on a multifaceted approach to tackle epilepsy including public awareness, advanced training programmes for neurologists and revision of medical curriculum. An estimated 50 million people were affected by epilepsy worldwide and of this 80 per cent were in developing countries which paradoxically have access to only 20 percent of anti epileptic drugs.
“The causes of the treatment gap could be attributed to inability of people to avail drugs, non –availability of the drugs and preference for traditional medicine.”
Thirty per cent of epilepsy cases are drug resistant and could be cured by surgery.
“India has perfected cost effective epilepsy surgical programmes with better results than the U.S. Yet, there is a surgical gap as only 300 such surgeries are performed every year.”
Speaking of the evolving neurological scenario in India, Dr. Radhakrishnan said though progress could be perceived in terms of public awareness, diagnostic and surgical treatment of epilepsy, better ante natal and post natal care and stringent road regulations to reduce post traumatic epilepsy caused by road accidents can prove to be effective.
“Clinical neurology is excellent in India but we lack in advanced investigative proceedings. Advanced centres of excellence should be set up to address this.”
Dr. Radhakrishnan revealed that increasing incidence and early onset of stroke in India was the major neurological concern and could be attributed to hypertension, diabetes and sedentary lifestyle.
The eighteenth conference of the Academy that concluded on Sunday in Tiruchi set a precedent with national neurological conference being held in a tier II city for the first time. The move can be perceived as indicative of the need stressed by leading neurologists in the conference to address neurological disorders at the grass root level in order to reduce disease burden of disorders like epilepsy.
M.A.Aleem, Organising Secretary of the Conference, said that Tamil Nadu was ahead in effective treatment of neurological disease.
545 delegates
Around 545 delegates from across India and abroad participated in the three day conference.