DOCTORS who treated a North-East teenager with multiple sclerosis (MS) using an experimental drug have found that it appears to have reversed the damage to her nervous system.
Patsy Peebles, 16, from Felling, in Gateshead, is doing so well two years after being given alemtuzamab that she will walk down the catwalk at the MS Life fashion show, at The Sage music centre, in Gateshead, next week, alongside her sister, Anna, 14, and Big Brother star Liam Mc- Gough.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the MS Society’s annual conference at The Sage between Friday and Sunday.
Patsy was only 15 when doctors at Newcastle General Hospital gave her a five-day infusion of alemtuzamab.
Licensed for use in leukaemia patients, it is now being used for MS, which is incurable.
Patsy suffered bouts of blindness, numbness and headaches before she was diagnosed with MS, a progressive, crippling condition which interrupts commands sent from the brain to the body.
After being treated with alemtuzamab nearly two years ago, Patsy went from not being able to walk more than a few yards to being able to go shopping with her friends.
She recently had an MRI scan to check the progress of her illness.
One of the characteristic signs of MS is damage to a substance called myelin, which acts as insulation for nerve fibres.
An MRI scan can pick up this damage, known as lesions, in the brain.
Last night, Patsy’s father, Bill, said: “The results of her MRI scan came back better than they had anticipated.
Some of the lesions were looking better or had even disappeared.”
Patsy underwent a scan after complaining about double vision and headaches.
But after doctors reduced the number of painkillers she was taking, these symptoms disappeared.
“She gets tired by the end of each day but she is so much better than she was two years ago,” her father said.
A small clinical trial of alemtuzamab is about to get under way at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary.
Professor David Bates, a leading neurologist, plans to recruit ten MS patients who meet strict criteria.
Anyone wishing to attend the three-day MS Life conference can register by ringing 0191-241-4523 or visit ms society.org.uk/mslife
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