ISLAMABAD – The ‘solar kids’ victims of a perplexing medical condition will remain under treatment at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) until results reveal more about their affliction after all tests, a private TV channel reported.
Shoaib, 13, and Rashid, 9, a pair of siblings from Mian Kundi village near Quetta, were nicknamed ‘solar kids’ by fellow villagers due to a rare condition that leaves them paralysed by sunset, although they wake up full of energy in the morning.Aftertesting different medicines, one appeared to be somewhat effective, said Dr Javed Akram, the vice chancellor at the PIMS.
He said that the condition of the ‘solar kids’was better in the evening now,as they can sit and walk, but it’s not a completely effective cure. The channel reported that about hundred medical tests have been completed while the results of around 200 tests are still awaited. Dr Akram said that one test reported a genetic problem which pointed to an issue with the nervous system.
The children’s mother and brother are being tested as well and doctors have also been sent to the village to assess their living environment and obtain more clues about the disease. “We will not send children back (home) until we complete their treatment,” Dr Akram said. On Saturday, the children were taken on a trip to the capital’s zoo.
A medical board had examined the children and recommended 232 tests and DNA analyses, samples of which might be sent abroad. The board members had anticipated that testing could reveal an entirely new disease.“It is a peculiar disease which pushes children into a vegetative state after sunset,” Dr Akram said. “We have taken it up as a research project.”
