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Dr Ishan Adhikari is a USA-board certified clinical neurologist and neurophysiologist with advanced specialization in epilepsy/seizures. After practicing in the US for 18 years, he returned to Nepal to found Medharma Clinix, a premier treatment center for epilepsy, neuromuscular diseases and autonomic disorders.  Stuti Mittal of ApEx spoke to Adhikari about Medharma and its works.

What exactly is Medharma?

Medharma is a world-class research-driven facility with a broad range of specialties for the treatment and care of neurological diseases and conditions.

Our clinic provides the highest quality of care to patients throughout Nepal and South Asia. It was founded with a mission to provide the level of care available in the US.

We have a group of US-trained doctors to provide the best care to our patients.

What motivated you to return to Nepal?

I wanted to help those people suffering from various neurological and autonomic disorders. Take epilepsy. Globally, more than five million people are diagnosed with epilepsy every year and 80 percent of them live in low- and middle-income countries. They have limited access to appropriate treatments.

According to the WHO, epilepsy affects 1 percent of every country’s population. In Nepal, this translates to nearly 350,000 people. I wanted to help these patients. Epilepsy or any other neurological disorder affects not only the patients but their families as well. Epilepsy patients need to be constantly monitored, which lowers the quality of life for both patients as well as their caretakers. This results in undue financial burden on families as it decreases their productivity.

What are your plans for Medharma in the future?

Every year Nepalis spend a large amount of money in India and abroad for the treatment of rare medical conditions due to a lack of quality health facilities and experienced doctors at home. We can prevent this by inviting specialist doctors and surgeons from the US and other developed nations. 

Besides, Medharma’s physicians are also mentoring medical students, researchers and public health professionals. The goal is to enhance their skills and knowledge by engaging them in collaborative projects established with renowned academic institutions in the US and the UK. Global Nepali Health and Research Center of Medharma has also established physician exchange programs with renowned universities in the US and the UK.

The objective of these exchange programs is to build a stronger and larger network of global health professionals to lift the health and wellbeing of low- and middle-income countries, including Nepal.

What in your view are the main challenges Nepal’s health sector faces?

First, we lack medical specialists. There are many Nepalis who have become experts in many fields of medicine, but we cannot attract them to Nepal due to limitations on the part of our health sector. Unfortunately, our country’s health facilities lack even basic medical equipment. Our survey has found that more than 70 percent of health facilities do not have an EEG machine, CT scan, or MRI.

The second challenge is the prevalent stigma and superstition. Seizure disorders are seen as a supernatural phenomenon and people have been found relying on rituals for treatment.

They do not seek medical help. A condition like epilepsy can be successfully treated in 70 percent patients and can be manageable in the remaining 30 percent. We need researched data in every field of medicine to guide experts.

How does Medharma plan on overcoming these challenges?

By relying on innovations in research and cutting-edge technologies that continue to revolutionize neurology. We are closer than ever to providing a real and lasting benefit to many patients suffering from complex and often devastating neurological disorders, especially epilepsy and neuromuscular disorders. Of course, this can only be achieved through capacity building, with training and education and enhanced community awareness programs. We have to remove the stigmas and taboos around neurological disorders.

How is Medharma unique from other health facilities?

Medharma provides comprehensive, world-class neurological clinical care. It is the first specialty clinic in the country devoted entirely to diagnosing and treating rare and uncommon nervous system disorders. Our neurological center is among the first to have a dedicated comprehensive clinical care program for epilepsy/seizure, neuromuscular and autonomic disorders in Nepal. We have advanced diagnostic technologies as well.

Through our partnership programs with Nepal League Against Epilepsy, Muscular Dystrophy Association of Nepal, Global Nepali Health and Research Center, and renowned institutions in the US and the UK, we ensure our patients the best treatment and support.

What are the core values of Medharma?

We believe in holistic treatment to improve the quality of life of our patients and their families. We are committed to exceptional patient care, training and research programs in neurology.

Nepal recorded 27 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday. 

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 654 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 22 returned positive. Likewise, 3, 093 people underwent antigen tests, of which 27 tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 220 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 4, 376 active cases in the country.

Professor Dhruba Kumar, an expert in international relations and security affairs, passed away on Wednesday. He was 73.

According to a family source, he died during the course of treatment at the Dhapasi-based Grande International Hopistal last night.

It has been learnt that that Kumar had been suffering from kidney related problems for the past many years.

He was a columnist for Kantipur daily for about  nine years.

Kumar is survived by his wife and three daughters.

A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima in northern Japan on Wednesday night, smashing furniture, knocking out power and killing four people. A small tsunami reached shore, but the low-risk advisory was lifted by Thursday morning, Associated Press reported.

The region is part of northern Japan that was devastated by a deadly 9.0 quake and tsunami 11 years ago that caused nuclear reactor meltdowns, spewing massive radiation that still makes some parts uninhabitable.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a parliamentary session Thursday morning that four people died during the quake and the cause of their deaths are being investigated, while 97 others were injured. A man in his 60s in Soma city died after falling from the second floor of his house while trying to evacuate, and a man in his 70s panicked and suffered a heart attack, Kyodo News reported earlier.

The Japan Meteorological Agency early Thursday lifted its low-risk advisory for a tsunami along the coasts of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures. Tsunami waves of 30 centimeters (11 inches) reached shore in Ishinomaki, about 390 kilometers (242 miles) northeast of Tokyo. 

The agency upgraded the magnitude of the quake to 7.4 from the initial 7.3, and the depth from 60 kilometers (36 miles) below the sea to 56 kilometers (35 miles).

NHK footage showed broken walls of a department store building fell to the ground and shards of windows scattered on the street near the main train station in the inland prefectural capital of Fukushima city. Roads were cracked and water poured out from pipes underground, according to the Associated Press.

Footage also showed furniture and appliances smashed to the floor at apartments in Fukushima. Cosmetics and other merchandise at convenience stores fell from shelves and scattered on the floor. In Yokohama, near Tokyo, an electric pole nearly fell. 

The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant where the cooling systems failed after the 2011 disaster, said workers found no abnormalities at the site, which is being decommissioned.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said a fire alarm went off at the turbine building of No. 5 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi but there was no actual fire. Water pumps for the spent fuel cooling pool at two of the four reactors at Fukushima Daini briefly stopped, but later resumed operation. Fukushima Daini, which survived the 2011 tsunami, is also set for decommissioning.

More than 2.2 million homes were temporarily without electricity in 14 prefectures, including the Tokyo region, but power was restored at most places by the morning, except for about 37,000 homes in the hardest hit Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, according to the Tohoku Electric Power Co. which services the region.

The quake shook large parts of eastern Japan, including Tokyo, where buildings swayed violently.

East Japan Railway Co. said most of its train services were suspended for safety checks. Some local trains later resumed service, Associated Press reported.

Many people formed long lines outside of major stations while waiting for trains to resume operation late Wednesday, but trains in Tokyo operated normally Thursday morning.

A Tohoku Shinkansen express train partially derailed between Fukushima and Miyagi due to the quake, but nobody was injured, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.

He told reporters that the government was assessing the extent of damage and promised to do its utmost for rescue and relief operations. 

“Please first take action to save your life,” Kishida tweeted. 

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said authorities were scrambling to assess damage. “We are doing our utmost in rescue operations and putting people’s lives first,” he said. 

He urged residents in the affected areas to use extra caution for possible major aftershocks for about a week, according to the Associated Press.