PGIMER trainee Dr Parth Lal honoured for nitrazepam trial in infant epilepsy

Dr Parth Lal, a DM trainee in paediatric neurology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, has received the 2025 Paediatric Neurology Trainee Award for his research on infantile epileptic spasms syndrome (IESS). According to Medical Dialogues, the award was presented on Friday, 16 October 2026, at the Child Neurology Society meeting in Montreal, Canada. Medical Dialogues and Update Punjab both report that he is the first Indian recipient.

According to Update Punjab, the award recognises an original research article by a trainee in paediatric neurology, and the selection considers scientific significance, methodological rigour, quality and innovation. The winning work is the NitRIS trial, published in the journal Pediatric Neurology. Update Punjab adds that the paper was accompanied by an editorial from members of the journal's editorial board.

What the trial studied

The full title is "A Proof-of-Concept Study on Effectiveness of Nitrazepam in Resistant Infantile Epileptic Spasms Syndrome". According to The Indian Express, it was conducted at PGIMER's Academic Pediatric Centre. It included 40 children aged between six and 30 months whose spasms had not responded to corticosteroids and vigabatrin, the principal first-line treatments for the condition.

The children were randomly assigned to two groups of 20. One group received nitrazepam and the other received topiramate, another anti-seizure medicine. The trial was open-label, but the assessment of outcomes was masked to reduce the risk of bias. Results were assessed after 10 weeks.

According to the findings reported by The Indian Express:

• Spasms stopped completely and stayed away for at least four weeks in 11 of 20 children on nitrazepam, compared with three of 20 on topiramate.
• Electroclinical remission, meaning the abnormal brain activity had also resolved, was seen in nine of 20 children on nitrazepam and two of 20 on topiramate.
• Quality-of-life scores also favoured nitrazepam, with a statistically significant difference between the groups.

Findings, with caution

The Indian Express reports that the researchers describe the results as proof-of-concept evidence of nitrazepam's short-term effectiveness over topiramate in this group of children, not as definitive proof that it should replace existing treatments. The trial was small and the follow-up period limited. Most of the children had acquired structural causes of brain injury, so the results may not apply equally to children whose condition has genetic causes.

The researchers say larger studies with longer follow-up are needed to establish whether the benefits last, how often spasms return, and what the treatment means for long-term development and safety.

About Dr Lal

Update Punjab reports that Dr Lal credited the research environment, guidance and support of PGIMER's Department of Pediatrics for the achievement. In December 2025 he received the Suzanne and Peter Berry International Travel Award from the American Epilepsy Society. Medical Dialogues reports that he was one of only two young investigators worldwide chosen from 1,500 international submissions.

Written by the TDi Newsdesk from the reporting listed above; we link to every source and do not reproduce it. Reporting a doctor’s achievement is not a recommendation or an endorsement of their treatment. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it on this page with a dated note. Read our newsroom standards.