UK to help cure rare disorder

Imagine your stomach was a bottomless chasm and no matter how much you put in it, you’re never full.

Implausible to the senses, but 18-month-old Shreejit Amol Hingankar from Bhosari, Pune, is the second such child from India to suffer from such a rare condition. The toddler now weighs 22 kg and suffers from deficiency of ‘satiety’ hormone leptin, because of which the brain fails to get the message that the stomach is full and so to stop eating.

The treatment for this disorder is unavailable in India. Shreejit’s parents who visited Mumbai’s Jaslok hospital on Monday will soon fly to London for his treatment. At the time of birth Shreejit was 2.5 kg. However, within the first six months, he already weighed 4kg.

The spurt in kilos was a shock to his parents Amol and Rupali who were unable to fathom the abnormal weight gain. Meanwhile, Shreejit continued to pile on the kilos by weighing an incredible 17 kg at 10 months, and now 22 kg at 18 months.

“Shreejit often suffers from breathlessness; he can neither sit nor stand on his own,” said his mother Rupali.

“I am praying to god that our child gets the appropriate medicines. Unfortunately, medicines are not available in India, compelling us to travel to UK,” she further said.

Dr Abhishek Kulkarni, endocrinologist and paediatrician, who is handling Shreejit’s case said he was the second child in the country to suffer from this condition termed leptin gene mutation/deficiency.

“Leptin gene mutation/deficiency does not have a cure in India. He needs to be given leptin shots twice a day, facilities for which are currently available only at the Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England. The hospital has undertaken to help give the shots free of cost.” he said.