He is an adult at eight

bangalore: this is the second case of its kind in medical history, according to doctors at the m.s. ramaiah medical college and hospital. precocious puberty occurs to one in a million children. the onset of menstruation in a three-year-old girl or a five-old-boy developing moustache and beard are symptoms that can be arrested with medicines. but eight-year-old nagaraj's is a queer case.a germ cell tumour in the suprasellar (at the base of the brain) region with a very uncommon presentation has caused early puberty in the little one. apart from developing the sexual characters of an adult, especially secondary sexual characteristics, the boy's vision was being affected, he was losing weight, having excess thirst and passing over five litres of urine every day. a normal boy of his age ought to pass only one litre of urine. nagaraj's parents noticed the change in his voice and physical appearance eight months ago. his father parameshwar works as a coolie in chennagiri taluk's doddamallapura. says his mother nirmala, ``he refuses to eat and drinks over five litres of water everyday. he sleeps only for an hour.'' a team of neurosurgeons, endocrinologists, oncologists and paediatricians is working on the problem. the rare tumour with many complications was operated upon on december 16. by microsurgery, the tumour was partially excised preserving all the vital functions including his vision. ``such children are very intelligent,'' says dr k.n. krishna, professor and head of department, neurosurgery. other than pain in the body and head, which he developed a month ago, nagaraj is active and alert. he walks around the general ward and watches nurses and doctors at work. krishna explains that nagaraj's biological systems controlled by the hypothalamus have been affected. according to prof. k.m. prasanna kumar, professor and head of the endocrinology department, the other case of precocious puberty, where the child survived surgery, was in a foreign country. thankfully, malfunctions in such children if controlled till the actual age of puberty resets them into normal beings. and in nagaraj's case, the control of the cancerous growth will help him lead a normal life. dr nalini kilara, professor and head of the department of medical oncology, says nagaraj will have to undergo chemotherapy sessions for the next six months. ``it is chemo-sensitive cancer and can be cured,'' she adds. the child whose mental age is that of an eight-year-old needs medicines like bleomycin, etoposide, cisplatinum, d-void spray or injection desmopression regularly. funds are also required for the expensive chemotherapy sessions, according to dr naresh shetty, the medical director of ms ramaiah hospital.