Eman gives hope, 7 kids in city for treatment

THE SAME GENE MUTATION THAT CAUSED EMAN’S CONDITION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CHILDREN’S OBESITY

city doctors helped Eman Ahmedshed 330kg, Mumbai is attracting others looking for obesity treatments.

Just as Eman Ahmed’s flight took off for Abu Dhabi, three children with severe obesity, from Gujarat’s Nandawana district, came to see doctors at Saifee Hospital.

Four more are set to travel to the city for treatment.

Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, bariatric surgeon and Eman’s doctor at Saifee Hospital, said, “After her successful recovery, I am excited to treat these children”.

“We will be taking them to Saifee Hospital,” said Dilip Nandwana, the children’s uncle .

Seven-year-old Yogita Nandwana weighs 45kg, five-year-old Anisha weighs 68kg, and their three-year-old brother Harsh weights 25kg.

Their unusual body weight forces them to eat enough food in a week that would feed two families of four for a month. Their parents are poor, so the rest of the village pitches in to feed them.

The doctors at Saifee Hospital are expecting four more children — two from Maharashtra and two from Gujarat — to join the trio. Dr Lakdawala told HT that the same mutation in the LEPR gene — which caused Eman’s condition — is responsible for the children’s severe obesity.

“Currently, there is no specific treatment for this condition. But a drug called MC4R Agonist, only available through a pharmaceutical company in the US, could help these children,” Dr Lakdawala said.

Dr Lakdawala said he will speak with the manufacturers, who have already agreed for a medical trial and look to put the children on the drug, as it’s the only option for their genetic condition.

Will the children be benefitted by the equipment and room pre pared for Eman’s treatment? Huzaifa Shehabi, COO of the hos pital said, “We haven’t thought about that, but it in fact is a good idea.”

Doctors said a bariatric proce dure, like the one performed on Eman, isn’t an option for the children.

“We avoid surgical proce dures on paediatric patients. As it’s a monogenic disorder, we will have to give a shot to the drug which has previously administered to three patients until now,” said Dr Lakdawala