The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : SAT paediatric neurology wing gets new facilities

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 04, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

SAT paediatric neurology wing gets new facilities

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, AUG. 3. The Paediatric Neurology Department at the SAT Hospital here has acquired new diagnostic facilities which will help in rendering specialised care for children with epilepsy and other neurological disorders.

The recent acquisition of the department is the video electroencephalogram monitoring device which will help in the early diagnosis of epilepsy in children. This is a special equipment which simultaneously records a child's behaviour and the brain's electrical activity. It records the EEG, with video and sound onto a computer so that the doctor can analyse it later.

"This is a valuable addition to our epilepsy clinic, for the device helps to distinguish between various types of seizures and to localise the part of the brain from where these are originating. This makes it possible for doctors to give specific treatment for each type of epilepsy," says P.A. Mohammed Kunju, Professor of Paediatric Neurology, SAT Hospital.

The department has also acquired the facilities for monitoring motor functions or the muscle response to nervous stimulation. The tests are aimed at recording the brain's responses to sensory stimuli such as sound, light and touch. It is used to assess hearing or sight in infants and children so that disorders of the optic nerve or tumours that affect the brain and spinal cord can be detected. These tests would be done free of cost for poor patients.

Weekly clinic

The department is currently running a weekly clinic for the ante-natal diagnosis of genetic neurological disorders like muscular dystrophy and Down's Syndrome. For the purpose, it has recently arranged a tie-up with the Molecular Genetic Studies Department of Gangaram's Hospital in New Delhi. Amniotic fluid samples are now being sent to New Delhi for analysis. Neonatal screening for detecting auditory problems is also on the anvil.

The department is the only one of its kind in the Medical Colleges in the State and is also the only centre which offers a host of para-neurological services such as speech therapy, physiotherapy and psychiatric consultations to give specialised care to children. However, the lack of trained staff - the department has only one EEG technician - is one problem that is being faced by doctors here.

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