Every day, millions of chemical and electrical signals pass from the nerve cells of the brain to the body. For most people this process is uneventful. However, for someone with epilepsy, the body can suddenly be seized by an abnormally high level of electrical activity, which occurs simultaneously in a large number of nerve cells in the brain.
This abnormal activity in the brain may cause the epilepsy patient to lose control of their body and experience convulsions, which may be very severe in some cases. Treatment usually helps to control seizures and stabilize the condition — if a patient has access to it.
According to the International League Against Epilespy, millions of people with epilepsy around the world do not receive appropriate treatment — or any treatment at all. In 2006, the organization's North American Commission identified Haiti as one of the regions with the most urgent needs for improved epilepsy care in the world.
Dr. Lionel Carmant, a pediatric neurologist, and former President of the Canadian League Against Epilepsy, led the North American Commission task force to bring epilepsy care to the country that struggles to provide even basic health- care for its people.
Dr. Carmant, who was born in Haiti and grew up in Canada, states, “I realized there was no neurologist in Haiti, and that the way to go was to start a clinic.” The Port-au-Prince Epilepsy Clinic opened in 2008, and has the only EEG machine in the country, an essential tool for diagnosing epilepsy.
Clinic needed more than ever
Ten percent of the Haitian population suffers from epilepsy; birth injury is prevalent in the country, and can result in epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Haitians with epilepsy already had trouble affording the medications that controlled their seizures, and after the earthquake in early 2010, money got scarcer and many pharmacies were destroyed.
Health Partners International of Canada (HPIC) helped Dr. Carmant bring a much-needed supply of Keppra to the clinic, through the generous donation by UCB, a Canadian biopharmaceutical company.
People with epilepsy can experience anywhere from five to ten seizures a day lasting up to three minutes, and having medicine is crucial for better quality of life. Dr. Carmant says the Keppra is well-tolerated and compliance is greater since patients only have to take it twice a day, instead of a usual dose of three times daily. “It has affected the lives of many in a positive way.”
“UCB Canada is proud to help Dr. Carmant and his team at The Port-au-Prince Epilepsy Clinic provide the treatment that can improve the lives of patients in such need, especially during such a critical time,” says Anne de Cassini, General Manager of UCB Canada. This was the first partnered initiative between HPIC and UCB.
