Priscilla Kolibea Mante, who is also a senior professor at the Kwame Nkrumah University, has been researching plants that can be used to make drugs effective against these diseases.

Though epilepsy is not widely known in Africa, Dr. Kolibea Mante has been working to facilitate the diagnosis of the disease apart from her contribution to finding its cure.

Currently, she is focused on understanding the genetic basis of epilepsy in drug-resistant patients. She aims to develop personalised medicines that can be used in combination with currently available drugs.

MOTIVATION AND INTEREST

According to Dr. Kolibea Mante, she often came across people with epilepsy whiles touring various hospitals as a student neuropharmacologist. This, she said sparked her interest in the disease.

From her initial research, she discovered that epilepsy was caused by a disorder of the central nervous system. She then decided to focus her research on this disorder, and explore the effectiveness of Ghanaian medicinal plants to treat the disease.

KYENKYEN AND THE BELLYACHE BUSH

Dr. Kolibea Mante is particularly studying the “Kyenkyen” plant which is commonly found in Ghanaian forests. Kyenkyen is mostly used as an anti-convulsant to prevent and reduce epileptic fits. Her research confirms that this plant has chemical properties to manage temporal lobe epilepsy.

Also through her work, she found that extracts from the leaves, roots and fruit of the bellyache bush contain products that have anticonvulsant effects.

Dr. Kolibea Mante won the L’Oréal Unesco “Women in Science” Award in 2019. Also in the same year, she was part of a sub-committee of experts to contribute to the report of the Gender Equality Advisory Council and to promote women scientists and science in Africa.

REFERENCE

Information from www.africanwomenexperts.com was used in this story