By Mama A Touray
Professor Ousman Nyang, Chief Medical Director Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital has said that health study has shown that misuse of substances like cannabis can lead to epilepsy.
Professor Nyang was speaking at the commemoration of International Epilepsy Day, held at the Arch in Banjul.
“In-patient studies show that the commonest disorders leading to admission are substance misuse (most frequently cannabis misuse), then schizophrenia, organic psychoses and effective disorders. In contrast, community data shows that forty-eight percent of the mental health burden is accounted for by schizophrenia, twenty three percent by epilepsy, sixteen percent substance misuse, 3.4% depressive disorders, 4.9% anxiety disorders, 1.6% dementias and 0.4% post malaria neurological symptoms,” he said.
He said that the mental health service consists of one community mental health team (CMHT) and an inpatient unit the Tanka Tanka psychiatric hospital, run as part of the EFSTH. Neurology clinic at EFSTH (Cuban specialist) majority of clients with epilepsy.
“The infrastructure for modern pharmacotherapy is well established, with ready access to modern pharmacological compounds for epilepsy, and the establishment of a multidisciplinary monthly clinic for epilepsy: started 26th March 2022; bookings 13th March, 30th May, and June,” he added.
“A senior consultant pediatric neurologist is expected to make an appointment at EFSTH in April 2022, and our essential medicine list” needs updating in order to reflect the progress in epilepsy care in the Gambia,” he continued.
International Day of Epilepsy is celebrated every second Monday in February every year, as 140 countries globally join together to work 50 million steps to raise awareness for challenges faced by 50 million people living with the condition from central river division to the greater Banjul to raised epilepsy awareness and contributed over one million steps towards the campaign.
