Neurologists numbering 1100 are finding it difficult to cater to the needs of the 1.2 billion people of the country. With increasing number of population falling prey to degenerative diseases, mostly neurological,India is facing  one of the biggest health threats, pointed out experts.

There is need for more neurologists in India to attend to the increasing needs of patients suffering from neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and dementia. According to the ‘Journal of Association of Physicians of India’ (JAPI) there are only 1,100 qualified clinical neurologists working in India. Going by the increasing number of patients requiring CT and MRI scans indicates the grave situation on the neurology care front, stated experts.

Now with the rising frequency of radiology screening, the shortage of neurologists makes it impossible to detect and diagnose these conditions early, they added.

“There has been an apparent increase in the number of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson and Alzheimer among others in recent times. Whether the numbers are rising due to growing awareness or increased availability and access to MRI scans or due to a genuine rise in occurrence of the disease is not certain,” said Dr Thomas Mathew, associate professor, Department of Neurology, St. John's Medical College Hospital, Bengaluru.

Several common neurological conditions have also been recognised as serious needing urgent attention. They include multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson and Alzheimer among others.

MS is an auto-immune disease in which the body attacks its own cells and tissues hampering neurological signalling from the brain to nerves around the body. According to estimates, there are over one lakh MS patients in the country. Women are twice more likely to fall prey to MS than men.

Parkinson's disease is another common neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by progressive loss of muscle control leading to loss of mobility. The disease is believed to affect about seven million people in India.

Approximately 70 per cent of all dementia cases can be attributed to Alzheimer’s. There are around 3.7 million Indians who suffer from this dreaded disease accounting for almost a quarter of the global load. There is an acute lack of facilities to detect or treat patients with Alzheimer's, so patients get ignored. In the west, they are much better off.

According to Dr Raghavendra, senior neurologist, Vikram Hospital, Bengaluru, “These chronic neurological conditions cause long-term disability if left untreated. Also, such patients suffer severe pain and go through mental as well as physical trauma. It becomes crucial to treat such patients with high priority. We urge the government to pay heed to the number of neurologists in our country with the growth in the awareness level of the patients.”