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has become a biology teacher First patient in Britain To get “Gamechanger” Treatment treat multiple sclerosis,
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that affects brain and spinal cordit can’t be fixed right nowBut treatment can often help manage it.
Emily Henders, 37, was Diagnosed with MS After experiencing tingling in his hands on Christmas Eve 2021.
The teacher from Bushey, Hertfordshire has suffered four debilitating recurrences Since her diagnosis, despite taking one of the most effective medications for the disease.
But Ms Henders said she felt “really good” after receiving the new CAR T-cell treatment at University College London Hospital.uclh) last week.
CAR T-cell treatment, which experts believe could “change” lives by stopping or slowing down disease progressionCustom-built for each patient in the laboratory. It is part of a global clinical trials To know if it can cure MS.
The person’s own T cells, which are important for detecting infected or damaged cells, are genetically engineered by scientists and fed back to the patient through an infusion to “reset” the immune system.
CARs for MS modify T cells to recognize and kill T cells, which are known to cause damage and allow MS to progress.
The mother of two, who has sons aged six and four, said she was feeling good after receiving the infusion in the three-minute procedure.
“I feel normal and I have energy back. I don’t have any nausea, I don’t have any fever. I feel quite relaxed.”
Ms Henders said her symptoms became “progressively worse” after her diagnosis. “I notice that sometimes my foot hits the sidewalk in a strange way. No one else would notice it, but I feel it.”
“Or when I’m teaching and doing a science experiment, I can feel that my hands are shaking, and I’m fully aware that the students can probably see that my hands are shaking.”
Ms Henders said she would “never forget” her first major accident when an ambulance had to be called and her children had to watch as she was driven away.
“I was just getting out of bed and my oldest son was with me, and I couldn’t stand up, and it was so scary,” she said.
“The ambulance came, and I’ll never forget the looks on my kids’ faces as the doctors came running in and then strapping me to a chair and carrying me down the stairs and putting me in the back of the ambulance.”
The loving mother worries how her relapse will affect her children emotionally, so the CAR T-cell has a good outcome. Treatment It would be for him to “never experience a recurrence again.”
He also hopes this treatment will prevent him from having to use a wheelchair in the future – a prospect that is typically very high for MS patients.
according to uclh Claire Roddy, consultant haematologist, says CAR T-cells offer real hope for MS patients and have shown success in cancer and the autoimmune disease lupus.
“Our ultimate goal is to get rid of the disease long-term with a one-time CAR T-cell treatment,” he said, adding that this could mean people could get rid of all their other medications.
“We are excited about this because we are taking a treatment developed to treat cancer and repurposing it for different conditions.
“CAR T-cells also go to places in the body that other drugs cannot reach very effectively.”
He said Treatment The “one and done” concept is where you should not need any more drugs after treatment, he added: “If we can achieve this in MS, it will change many people’s lives.”
Caitlin Astbury, senior research communications manager at the MS Society, said: “It is still early days, but if the trial results prove successful, CAR T-cell therapy could be a gamechanger for treating this condition.”
The trial aims to enroll 18 patients globally by early 2027.