Middle East Health speaks to Dr Arif Khan, a paediatric neurologist and founder of Neuropedia, a comprehensive children’s neuroscience centre in the UAE, about the centre and the neurological disorders they’re seeing and treating.
Middle East Health: When was the paediatric neuroscience centre, Neuropedia, established? Why was it set up?
Arif Khan: Neuropedia was established in March 2018. It’s the first paediatfric neuroscience centre in the region and has been providing exceptional services to the local population for the past four years. Whilst there are larger healthcare providers in the region that offer paediatric neurology services, only a few create a welcoming and comprehensive environment that facilitates diagnosis from an interdisciplinary point of view. The multi-faceted nature of neurosciences and its application in paediatrics is often overlooked by a hospital or clinic that focuses on multiple specialties. Neuropedia functions on the concept of creating a self-sufficing cycle of consultation, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and rehabilitation designed especially for each child.
Middle East Health: Can you tell us a bit more about the centre: What age groups does it serve? How big is it? Which areas does it serve? Are you receiving referrals from outside the UAE?
Arif Khan: We cater to children from birth up to 18 years of age. Our first centre was opened in Jumeirah, Dubai. It has a number of specialities like paediatric neurology, paediatric psychology, developmental paediatrics, educational psychology, paediatric physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, behavioural therapy for autism, paediatric dietetics, neurophysiology and clinical genetics.
After having successfully operated for four years, we have recently opened a similar facility in Sahara Healthcare City in Sharjah. We plan to replicate the same reliable and comprehensive service to the population of Sharjah.
We receive international referrals from a number of countries. We have children from Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Oman, Kuwait, Sudan and Egypt being referred to us and following up with us on a regular basis.
Middle East Health: Does the centre specialise in treating specific neurological disorders?
Arif Khan: Being a unique paediatric neuroscience centre, we have demonstrated clinical excellence in diagnosing and treating a number of childhood disorders. Some of the most common disorders that we treat include: autism, ADHD (attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder), epilepsy, migraine, cerebral palsy, neuropathies, neurogenetic disorders, neuromuscular disorders, sleep problems and many learning conditions like dyslexia, dyscalculia, speech difficulties and behavioural problems.
Middle East Health: There are quite a variety of paediatric neurological disorders. What are the most prevalent disorders presented at Neuropedia?
Arif Khan: Epilepsy forms 30 to 40 percent of our patient presentations. Autism is also seen frequently along with other neurobehavioural conditions like ADHD. We have a number of long-term patients with chronic disorders like cerebral palsy benefitting from the comprehensive rehabilitative services that we offer.
Middle East Health: Are there any significant sex differences in the prevalences of the disorders?
Arif Khan: It depends on the specific neurological conditions. For example, ADHD is seen mainly in boys during childhood but the gender gap narrows in adulthood. Autism, neuromuscular diseases and motor tics are also seen more frequently in boys. Whereas, certain types of epilepsies, migraines and multiple sclerosis is more common in girls.
Middle East Health: Are some of these most prevalent disorders specific to the region or is it similar to other parts of the world?
Arif Khan: Most of these conditions have a similar prevalence in different geographical regions. However, certain genetic disorders have a higher prevalence in this region due to parental consanguinity. However, not many epidemiological studies have been carried out to look into the exact difference in prevalence.
Middle East Health: For the most prevalent disorders, what treatments are available at Neuropedia?
Arif Khan: Epilepsy: Epilepsy is an extremely common neurological disorder and can be seen in children and adults of all ages. If diagnosed, it can be treated and controlled
– thereby significantly improving the quality of life of the patient. At Neuropedia, we have state-of-the-art neurophysiology laboratory facilities to evaluate and investigate the brain’s electrical pattern in children. This enables our paediatric neurologists to make an accurate diagnosis, followed by appropriate treatment strategies.
Autism: 1 in 58 children are diagnosed with autism. At Neuropedia we have an inter-disciplinary professional team who facilitate the management of autism from diagnosis to treatment, including academic support.
Cerebral palsy: Our expert team of paediatric physiotherapists and paediatric neurologists create a child-centred approach at Neuropedia where every child is given an individualized plan to achieve their functional goal. The co-morbidities associated with cerebral palsy are managed by neurologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and developmental paediatricians.
Middle East Health: Are you finding that there is significant misinformation / misunderstanding among parents regarding certain neurological disorders? Which disorders are these? What is the misinformation? What do you recommend can be done to correct this?
Arif Khan: I believe misinformation is the biggest threat to medical advances and healthcare improvements. Let’s look, for example at epilepsy.
When a child or teenager is diagnosed with epilepsy, the impact of the diagnosis on the child and family is enormous. Children with epilepsy see the disorder through the window of their parents’ eyes. The situation for children with this disorder in the developing world remains problematic. The misinterpretation of epilepsy often results in these children being socially ostracized. Many times, they are not brought to the clinic for medical advice and even if they do present, it usually is very late. However, I can see this changing as I have been practicing in this region for nearly seven years. Many parents resort to seeking information on Google. We know that most of the information on Google is not accurate and the websites that offer accurate advice may not be the first ones they come across.
There is a lot of stigma that still exists with seizures and epilepsy. We still see some parents who believe that epilepsy is contagious, some believe that it is a form of disability, some put a metal object in the child’s hand in the belief it will stop a seizure, some pour water into the child’s mouth during the seizure. These myths and tales must be systematically identified and abolished.
Middle East Health: Have you been finding an increase in certain disorders due to the Covid-19 pandemic?
Arif Khan: The biggest problem that I come across in my clinic post-covid is this new disorder called ‘Screen Pandemic’. Children are spending 8 to 10 hours a day on screens and this includes digital learning. This leads to degeneration of social skills, motivation, and physical health, as well as sleep and behaviour problems. We have a number of children coming in with problems such as aggression, insomnia, and lethargy. We need to gradually reverse this pandemic by teaching our children to get outdoors, adopt extra-curricular activities and hobbies and minimize screen time. We have been seeing increased prevalence of childhood headaches and migraines, as well as increased cases of depression and social anxiety.
Middle East Health: Where does the road ahead take Neuropedia?
Arif Khan: Our focus on growing and developing Neuropedia goes hand in hand with the Dubai Health Authority’s five-year focus on Mental Health and Rehabilitation. This is a personal goal of mine. We believe in treatments based on evidence, experience and consensus that reflect our evolving and adapting nature in this field. We believe our vision of expansion and growth stands for a wider sense of acceptance – a world where neurological illnesses are not shrouded behind legends of curses and old-wives’ tales that hinder the scientific and genetic nature of one’s being. We wish to be a beacon of light for those parents who experience hopelessness and fear in a warped world with mass hysteria about conditions that make us different.
In five years’ time, we hope Neuropedia becomes synonymous in the region for all paediatric neuroscience-based consultations. Having brought light and clarity into the lives of a few since our inception, we see ourselves not only expanding to more cities, but also accepting more patients from overseas thanks to the vision of the UAE leaders who aim to promote medical tourism in the region.
As a paediatric neurologist and a father of three, I am optimistic about the growth of paediatric neuroscience in the region. I only hope that professionals in other specialities follow suit to ensure that the future is always filled with joy, hope and positivity for generations to come.
- To learn more, visit: https://neuropedia.ae/
