KARACHI, March 7: "Epilepsy is curable" was the theme of the first walk held in the city to create awareness about the disease on Sunday morning. The walk was organized under the banner of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Control Programme (CECP) by the staff of the neurology ward of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in collaboration with some pharmaceutical companies.

Some 400 people took part in the walk, held near the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam. Dr Waseem Akhter of the JPMC told Dawn that the walk was the latest initiative under the CECP to create awareness about the misconceptions surrounding epilepsy.

In rural areas, explained Dr Akhter, only two per cent of the epileptics were being treated properly. "And in the urban areas, where the prevalence is about half that of the rural areas, some 20 per cent of the patients were getting proper treatment," he said.

That was why, he added, the CECP wanted to inform all the people concerned that epilepsy was fully treatable. About 90 per cent of the epileptics, observed Dr Akhter, suffered from the types of the disease, which were fully treatable.

"In such patients, the brain is largely unaffected. In the other 10 per cent of the affected population, some additional symptoms may be present indicating some damage to the brain," he said. He added that these people might be having some complications in addition to epilepsy.

Under the CECP, he said, 40-odd "Satellite Epilepsy Centres" had been established in the four provinces. Thirty of these centres were situated in Karachi, he said, and added, "The aim of these centres is to take the treatment of epilepsy as close to the people's doorsteps as possible."

The centres were manned by professionals who had been trained in clinical neurology especially under the CECP. Dr Akhter claimed that the international agencies involved in the Global Campaign Against Epilepsy recognized the CECP as a good model for the developing countries.

He said the medicines needed to cure the ailment was available locally. "Our manufacturers are so good at making these drugs that these are also being exported to some African countries too," he remarked.

Too many people, he said, identified epilepsy with lunacy or a supernatural phenomenon. "This is the main reason why there are so many misconceptions about the disease," he added.

An epileptic fit often has a one-minute duration after which the patient either woke up, as if nothing had happened, or simply went to sleep, having been drained of considerable energy. "During the fit, the patient should be made to lie down sideways and nothing should be given or administered to him or her," he said.

Dr Zareen Mogal of the JPMC pointed out that some children suffered from such minor forms of epilepsy that the detection of the same was often difficult. These children just went blank at times while in the classroom or at home, she said.

"Such children are just perceived as clumsy children who drop things and stuff sometimes. Their fits are mild, but rather frequent," she added. In 70 to 80 per cent of the cases, she said, the ailment subsided after proper medication for a period of two to three years. "However, in 20 to 30 per cent of the cases, the patients needed to use the drugs for the rest of their lives."

Dr Ejaz Khanzada of the School Health Service said that some prominent people like Prof Hasan Aziz, Prof Shaukat, Dr Asif Zaman and Prof Hafiz Firdaus had taken part in the walk.