Gandhi Medical College Alumna Dr Kavitha Kothur Leads Global Epilepsy Breakthrough

Dr Kavitha Kothur, a paediatric neurologist and alumna of Hyderabad's Gandhi Medical College, has helped lead a global medical breakthrough in Australia to treat an eight-month-old infant suffering from a rare and potentially fatal form of epilepsy.

The infant, Bohdi Higginson from the New South Wales Central Coast, became the first person in the world to receive a targeted precision medicine treatment for KCNT1-related catastrophic epilepsy. Bohdi had begun experiencing seizures at three months of age, with as many as 74 seizures recorded in a single day.

Conventional medications failed to control his seizures, and the baby was losing developmental milestones. KCNT1-related catastrophic epilepsy is an ultra-rare genetic condition with only 18 recorded cases across Australia and no previously known effective treatment.

Dr Kavitha and her medical team at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney investigated Bohdi’s genetic diagnosis and identified a potential targeted therapy developed overseas. The drug had shown promise in animal studies but had never previously been administered to a child with epilepsy.

Working through the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network’s Innovative Therapies Pathway, the multidisciplinary team fast-tracked assessment and access to the treatment. Bohdi received his first dose on April 21 and experienced his final seizure three days later. He remains on the treatment and under active medical monitoring to evaluate long-term outcomes.

Dr Kavitha described the process of administering the untested therapy as both exciting and daunting. She completed her MBBS at Gandhi Medical College in Hyderabad, where she secured the top rank in the State postgraduate medical entrance examination, before completing her MD in Paediatrics at PGI Chandigarh and later specialising in paediatric neurology.

Dr Kavitha noted that advances in genetic testing provide unprecedented opportunities to identify the precise causes of rare diseases and develop targeted therapies. She stated that when conventional options fail, clinicians must explore new possibilities within careful clinical and ethical frameworks, ensuring patient safety and family involvement throughout the process.