Chennai: After being confined to a wheelchair for 11 months, 11-year-old Niloy Haque from Bangladesh visited Global Health City here with his parents in March.
He had already undergone treatment at a well-known hospital in Singapore for six months and the report of that neurologist said he was confident that the patient’s defence system had gone out of control and that had affected his brain and spinal cord.
The boy was already taking nearly 10 tablets, and when they decided to increase the dosage, Niloy’s father Alhaj SM Fazlul Haq decided to visit India for further treatment. They were worried about the boy’s mysterious, neurological illness.
“We examined all reports from the Singapore hospital. From muscle study to MRI brain and spine scans, everything appeared normal. But still the boy could not walk and twitched his body like in seizures. He didn’t make eye contact and he answered to all our questions in just one word,” said Dr Vijayasaravanan Palanivel, consultant in paediatric neurodisability and neurorehabilitation, Global Health City.
Then his team of doctors, including yoga therapists, creative art therapists and physiotherapists, examined the patient and found that he was suffering from conversion disorder.
Conversion disorder is a rare condition that can strike an otherwise healthy young person, leaving him unable to walk or talk. “Stress is the underlying cause of conversion disorder,” said Dr Murugan, consultant paediatric neurologist, Global Health City.
The boy lives in a joint family and his father is authoritative and mother, overprotective. “His cousins hardly spoke to him and teased him for not having any friends.
A psychology assessment showed that he had very superior intelligence. When the stress reached breaking point, it was converted into emotional illness and the boy started talking to himself and was not able to walk.
It is a physical manifestation of psychological symptoms and the disorder is thought to be driven by a subconscious attempt to convert emotional thoughts or stressors into something more socially acceptable,”said Dr Vijayasaravanan.
His medications were gradually stopped and he was treated to ease stress. “Now, he is able to walk and run. He appeared a lot happier and left for Bangladesh on Tuesday.” informed Dr Vijayasaravanan.