Anticancer drug saves boy with brain damage
Times of India | 8 October 2025Peerless Hospital doctors prescribed Rituximab to bring him back to health.
Sourish Saha celebrated his seventh birthday on Tuesday at the hospital before going home on Wednesday.
Sourish, a resident of Bhatpara, was admitted to the hospital on Aug 28 in a comatose state, with refractory status epilepticus, a life-threatening neurological condition, experiencing continuous seizures. He was diagnosed with meningitis and despite initial improvement, Sourish's condition worsened after extubation, leading to encephalopathy, total paralysis, amnesia and inability to eat or drink.
He was further diagnosed with seronegative autoimmune encephalitis.
Standard intravenous immunoglobulin and methylprednisolone therapy yielded minimal recovery.
An MRI revealed significant inflammation in his frontal cortex. The medical team initiated therapy with Rituximab. "Rituximab has revolutionised treatment of autoimmune diseases. It worked like a miracle," said paediatrician Saheli Dasgupta, head of PICU, Peerless. "We prescribed careful dosage after going through medical literature and consulting paediatric neurologist Arijit Chattopadhyay."
Within weeks, Sourish regained his ability to sit, walk and eat independently.
