About Paediatric Neurology
Paediatric Neurology Unit at Christian Medical College, Vellore evolved under the Department of Neurological Sciences in the year 2007. From its inception, it has catered to children with neurological disorders, both in the outpatient clinics and as inpatients. With clinical services gradually increasing, and for facilitation of training, it was declared an independent unit in 2018. It is now one of the prestigious centres with referrals from all around the country. It now caters to nearly 26,000 outpatients and 500 inpatients annually.
Major Milestones
- Initiation of the Paediatric Neurology Post Doctoral Fellowship course- 2017
- Initiation of the DM Paediatric Neurology course under the National Medical Commission in 2019 (one among the first in the country)
- Dedicated office space and OP facility were opened for Paediatric Neurology in the first floor of west Block building- August 2019
- Fully qualified faculty from 1 to 3 by 2013 and to 5 by 2022
- Conducted the first Master class in Paediatric Neurology under the Indian Academy of Neurology in 2019
- Conducted Childneurocon 2024, the 14th Annual Conference of the Association of Child Neurology (AOCN), India from 8th to 10th February 2024.
- With the shift of Neurological sciences to Ranipet campus, the neuroelectrophysiology lab in the main campus was earmarked exclusively for children in 2022.
- Additional OP rooms were opened for consultation in the third floor of the West Block in 2025.
Services
Paediatric Neurology caters to children with neurological problems. This includes:
- Epilepsy: medical and surgical treatment, precision medicine in genetic epilepsies
- Cerebral palsy and cerebral palsy mimics
- Neurometabolic disorders like phenylketonuria, mitochondrial disorders
- Paediatric movement disorders
- Neuroinfections such as neurocysticercosis, tuberculosis, encephalitis and other rare infections
- Neuroinflammatory disorders such as demyelination, multiple sclerosis, immune-mediated epilepsies
- Stroke in children, including arterial ischemic stroke, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, and Moya Moya disease (surgical and medical management)
- Neurogenetics (Congenital brain malformations, neurocutaneous disorders, etc)
- Neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and other genetic disorders
- Peripheral nerve disorders such as GBS, CIDP
- Inherited neurodegenerative conditions
- Bone marrow transplant for rare disorders such as adrenoleukodystrophy, metachromatic leukodystrophy, mucopolysaccaridosis (along with Haematology Department)
- Neuromuscular disorders
- Neonatal Neurology
- Transition to adult neurology care
Other Unique Features
The unit provides excellent multidisciplinary care for complex neurological problems with precision diagnostics and therapeutics and provision of genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis as it works in close collaboration with related specialties such as Neurosurgery, Neurology (for transitioning of children with chronic illness), PMR, CAP, Developmental Paediatrics, Medical Genetics and Paediatric Orthopaedics.
The unit caters to several IP consultation referrals from other departments such as General Paediatrics, Paediatric subspecialties including Paediatric Emergency room, paediatric intensive care unit, neonatology, paediatric endocrinology, paediatric nephrology, paediatric respirology, paediatric rheumatology, immunology and infectious diseases, paediatric oncology, paediatric gastroenterology, paediatric surgery, paediatric orthopaedics, developmental paediatrics, and Haematology.
The neuroelectrophysiology lab staffed by the unit doctors and expert technologists is a well-equipped lab performing nearly 40 to 50 electroencephalography (EEG) recordings, Nerve conduction studies and Evoked potentials on a daily basis in addition to 12-24 hour video telemetry recordings. The lab also runs the BSc degree course for neuroelectrophysiology students along with the Neurology unit.