Doctors baffled by ‘solar kids’
Print Edition
THE two brothers have come to be known as the “solar kids” and their case has mystified Pakistani doctors.
Aged 9 and 13, the siblings are normal active children during the day, but once the sun goes down, they both lapse into a vegetative state — unable to move or talk.
Javed Akram, a professor of medicine at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had no idea what was causing the symptoms.
“We took this case as a challenge. Our doctors are doing medical tests to determine why these kids remain active in the day but cannot open their eyes, why they cannot talk or eat when sun goes down,” he said on a visit to see the pair at his hospital.
The government is providing free medical care to the siblings, who come from an impoverished family, he said.
The brothers are undergoing extensive medical testing and samples of their blood have been sent to overseas specialists for further examination, he said.
Mohammad Hashim, the boys’ father, comes from a village near Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province. He and his wife are first cousins and two of their six children died at an early age. Their other two children have not displayed any unusual symptoms.
His simple theory: “I think my sons get energy from sun.”
But doctors have already dismissed the idea that sunlight plays a role, saying the boys can move during the day even when kept in a dark room or during a rainstorm.
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