Hertfordshire mum is first UK patient to trial new MS treatment

Lucy North/PA Media Emily Henders smiles at the camera while lying in a hospital bed, propped up by pillows. She has a bandage on her right arm over a cannula and a plaster on her left wrist. She wears a petrol blue t-shirt and has long brown hair. — Emily Henders is taking part in a trial of T-cell therapy, which has proved successful in treating blood cancer

A biology teacher and mother-of-two has become the first UK patient to receive a “gamechanger” therapy to treat multiple sclerosis (MS).

Emily Henders, 37, from Bushey, Hertfordshire, was treated at University College London Hospital (UCLH) as part of a global clinical trial.

Mrs Henders had experienced “really scary” relapse episodes since being diagnosed in December 2021 during which, she said: “My legs don’t work, I can’t walk.”

Experts believe the targeted immunotherapy treatment could “transform” lives by slowing or even halting progression of the disease.

“I hope taking part in the trial means I will never have to experience another relapse and that my MS symptoms will not progress,” Mrs Henders said.

“I know it is still experimental but it offers a scientific rationale which, as a biology teacher, makes sense to me.”

Mrs Henders and her husband Brandon would like to have a third child, but are concerned about the impact on her MS

Family handout/PA Media Emily and her husband Brandon sit in a rowing boat on a lake, with his arm around her. They smile at the camera. She wears large sunglasses and a green top with white polka dots, he wears a white T-shirt. There is a low stone bridge behind them and someone punting past on the left. — Mrs Henders and her husband Brandon would like to have a third child, but are concerned about the impact on her MS

Multiple sclerosis is an “autoimmune” disease, which happens when the immune system attacks nerves in the brain and spinal cord by mistake.

The experimental treatment, known as CAR T cell therapy, aims to reset the immune system.

It works by depleting B cells, which are thought to drive the autoimmune attack in MS.

The patient’s own T cells, which hunt out infected or damaged cells, are genetically engineered and fed back into the patient via an infusion to “re-set” the immune system.

Mrs Henders, who has sons aged six and four, told the PA news agency she was feeling well after receiving the infusion in a three-minute procedure.

“I’m actually feeling really good. I’m feeling normal and I’ve got energy back.

“I don’t have any nausea, I’ve had no fevers. I’m feeling pretty relaxed,” she said.

The trial aims to recruit up to 18 patients globally by early 2027

Lucy North/PA Media Emily lies in the hospital bed looking up at a female nurse who stands next to her. They are laughing together with wide smiles. The nurse wears blue rubber gloves and a white plastic apron, and has her hair tied back in a ponytail. Lucy has tubes going into her arm and hand, and there is a drip stand next to her bed. — The trial aims to recruit up to 18 patients globally by early 2027

Mrs Henders, whose father also has MS, was diagnosed on Christmas Eve after suffering tingling in her hands.

“Physically, my symptoms have progressively got worse,” she said.

“I notice sometimes my foot hits the pavement in a funny way. Or when I’m teaching and my hands are shaking.”

Mrs Henders will “never forget” her first major relapse when her children saw her taken away by ambulance.

“I was getting out of bed and I couldn’t stand up – it was very scary,” she said.

“I’ll never forget my children’s faces as the medics were rushing in and strapping me to a chair.

“Emotionally, I worry for them and how they’re dealing with it.

“I worry that this might be passed on to them. It’s very scary for the future, not knowing what the next relapse would bring.”

Emily is one of 150,000 people in the UK with Multiple Sclerosis

Lucy North/PA Media EMily and her husband smile into the camera. She is wearing a pretty pink floral dress that is off the shoulder and her husband wears a grey blazer. He has a beard and glasses — Emily is one of 150,000 people in the UK with Multiple Sclerosis

Mrs Henders hopes the treatment will avoid the decline typical in MS patients, who often require a wheelchair.

“It would mean I’ll be able to chase my children around, and I’ll still be able to work,” she said.

“I wouldn’t be able to be a science teacher in a wheelchair or even on crutches.

“It’s too much of a health and safety hazard, so that would have a real impact on my job.”

A spokesperson for the MS Society said: “It’s early days but, if trial results prove successful, CAR T-cell therapy could be a gamechanger for how we treat the condition.”

UCLH consultant haematologist Claire Roddie said the team was “excited” about the trial.

“We are taking a treatment developed to treat cancers and re-purposing it for a whole new spectrum of conditions,” she said.

“We give CAR T-cell therapy – bang, you’re in, you get the treatment, and that’s it.

“Hopefully you don’t need any more drugs beyond that point.

“If we could achieve that in MS, it would transform so many people’s lives.”

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