{"id":35848,"date":"2025-10-24T10:16:49","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T10:16:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=35848"},"modified":"2025-10-24T10:23:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T10:23:53","slug":"mum-is-first-uk-patient-to-trial-new-ms-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=35848","title":{"rendered":"Mum is first UK patient to trial new MS treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-7bfdb3c2-0 fYJjWP\">\n<div class=\"sc-7bfdb3c2-1 jqWinX\">7 minutes ago<\/p>\n<p><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-2 sc-28fdc07f-5 sc-28fdc07f-6 fQbEOM dSGHyC kuBZLr\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-0 sjpOl\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-1 fpFxhF\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" data-action=\"save\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-2 sc-28fdc07f-5 sc-28fdc07f-6 ejnpYO dWrhlh kycDtY\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-0 sjpOl\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-1 fpFxhF\">Save<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-7bfdb3c2-11 ljQVMv\"><\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors-contributor-0\" class=\"sc-7bfdb3c2-5 xGeVU\">\n<p><span class=\"sc-7bfdb3c2-7 djOqvY\">Louise Parry<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-2 sc-28fdc07f-5 sc-28fdc07f-6 fQbEOM dSGHyC kuBZLr\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-0 sjpOl\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-1 fpFxhF\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" data-action=\"save\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-2 sc-28fdc07f-5 sc-28fdc07f-6 ejnpYO dWrhlh kycDtY\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-0 sjpOl\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-28fdc07f-1 fpFxhF\">Save<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 gtLOOD\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/813318a0-b0a4-11f0-9ab4-6b547b84eb35.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"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.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\" \/><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">Lucy North\/PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">A biology teacher and mother-of-two has become the first UK patient to receive a &#8220;gamechanger&#8221; therapy to treat multiple sclerosis (MS).<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Emily Henders, 37, from Bushey, Hertfordshire, was treated at <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uclhospitals.brc.nihr.ac.uk\/news\/first-ms-patient-uk-trial-car-t-cell-therapy-uclh\" class=\"sc-f9178328-0 iCaRzc\">University College London Hospital (UCLH)<\/a> as part of a global clinical trial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Mrs Henders had experienced &#8220;really scary&#8221; relapse episodes since being diagnosed in December 2021 during which, she said: &#8220;My legs don&#8217;t work, I can&#8217;t walk.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Experts believe the targeted immunotherapy treatment could &#8220;transform&#8221; lives by slowing or even halting progression of the disease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I hope taking part in the trial means I will never have to experience another relapse and that my MS symptoms will not progress,&#8221; Mrs Henders said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I know it is still experimental but it offers a scientific rationale which, as a biology teacher, makes sense to me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 gXrNRM\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/grey-placeholder-3.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/74d45410-b0a5-11f0-9ab4-6b547b84eb35.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"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.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\" \/><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">Family handout\/PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Multiple sclerosis is an &#8220;autoimmune&#8221; disease, which happens when the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mssociety.org.uk\/about-ms\/what-is-ms\" class=\"sc-f9178328-0 iCaRzc\">immune system attacks nerves<\/a> in the brain and spinal cord by mistake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The experimental treatment, known as CAR T cell therapy, aims to reset the immune system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">It works by depleting B cells, which are thought to drive the autoimmune attack in MS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The patient&#8217;s own T cells, which hunt out infected or damaged cells, are genetically engineered and fed back into the patient via an infusion to &#8220;re-set&#8221; the immune system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I&#8217;m actually feeling really good. I&#8217;m feeling normal and I&#8217;ve got energy back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I don&#8217;t have any nausea, I&#8217;ve had no fevers. I&#8217;m feeling pretty relaxed,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 gXrNRM\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/grey-placeholder-3.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/e0080600-b0a5-11f0-9ab4-6b547b84eb35.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"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.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\" \/><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">Lucy North\/PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Mrs Henders, whose father also has MS, was diagnosed on Christmas Eve after suffering tingling in her hands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;Physically, my symptoms have progressively got worse,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I notice sometimes my foot hits the pavement in a funny way. Or when I&#8217;m teaching and my hands are shaking.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Mrs Henders will &#8220;never forget&#8221; her first major relapse when her children saw her taken away by ambulance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I was getting out of bed and I couldn&#8217;t stand up &#8211; it was very scary,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I&#8217;ll never forget my children&#8217;s faces as the medics were rushing in and strapping me to a chair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;Emotionally, I worry for them and how they&#8217;re dealing with it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I worry that this might be passed on to them. It&#8217;s very scary for the future, not knowing what the next relapse would bring.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 gXrNRM\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/grey-placeholder-3.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/a2948360-b0b0-11f0-84eb-4d8548a8617c.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"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\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\" \/><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">Lucy North\/PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Mrs Henders hopes the treatment will avoid the decline typical in MS patients, who often require a wheelchair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;It would mean I&#8217;ll be able to chase my children around, and I&#8217;ll still be able to work,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t be able to be a science teacher in a wheelchair or even on crutches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;It&#8217;s too much of a health and safety hazard, so that would have a real impact on my job.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">A spokesperson for the MS Society said: &#8220;It&#8217;s early days but, if trial results prove successful, CAR T-cell therapy could be a gamechanger for how we treat the condition.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">UCLH consultant haematologist Claire Roddie said the team was &#8220;excited&#8221; about the trial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;We are taking a treatment developed to treat cancers and re-purposing it for a whole new spectrum of conditions,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;We give CAR T-cell therapy &#8211; bang, you&#8217;re in, you get the treatment, and that&#8217;s it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;Hopefully you don&#8217;t need any more drugs beyond that point.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;If we could achieve that in MS, it would transform so many people&#8217;s lives.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"links-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 djqsWD\">\n<div class=\"sc-666b6d83-0 sc-c4fb5674-0 jYmMqa doYqeg\"><span data-testid=\"links-title\" class=\"sc-c4fb5674-2 bBuHEW\">Related stories<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"links-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 djqsWD\">\n<div class=\"sc-666b6d83-0 sc-c4fb5674-0 jYmMqa kGPvxx\"><span data-testid=\"links-title\" class=\"sc-c4fb5674-2 bBuHEW\">Related links<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>7 minutes agoShareSaveLouise ParryShareSaveLucy North\/PA MediaA biology teacher and mother-of-two has become the first UK patient to receive a &#8220;gamechanger&#8221; 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 &#8220;really scary&#8221; relapse episodes since being diagnosed in December 2021 during which, she said: &#8220;My legs don&#8217;t work, I can&#8217;t walk.&#8221;Experts believe the targeted immunotherapy treatment could &#8220;transform&#8221; lives by slowing or even halting progression of the disease.&#8221;I hope taking part in the trial means I will never have to experience another relapse and that my MS symptoms will not progress,&#8221; Mrs Henders said.&#8221;I know it is still experimental but it offers a scientific rationale which, as a biology teacher, makes sense to me.&#8221;Family handout\/PA MediaMultiple sclerosis is an &#8220;autoimmune&#8221; 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&#8217;s own T cells, which hunt out infected or damaged cells, are genetically engineered and fed back into the patient via an infusion to &#8220;re-set&#8221; 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.&#8221;I&#8217;m actually feeling really good. I&#8217;m feeling normal and I&#8217;ve got energy back.&#8221;I don&#8217;t have any nausea, I&#8217;ve had no fevers. I&#8217;m feeling pretty relaxed,&#8221; she said.Lucy North\/PA MediaMrs Henders, whose father also has MS, was diagnosed on Christmas Eve after suffering tingling in her hands.&#8221;Physically, my symptoms have progressively got worse,&#8221; she said.&#8221;I notice sometimes my foot hits the pavement in a funny way. Or when I&#8217;m teaching and my hands are shaking.&#8221;Mrs Henders will &#8220;never forget&#8221; her first major relapse when her children saw her taken away by ambulance.&#8221;I was getting out of bed and I couldn&#8217;t stand up &#8211; it was very scary,&#8221; she said.&#8221;I&#8217;ll never forget my children&#8217;s faces as the medics were rushing in and strapping me to a chair.&#8221;Emotionally, I worry for them and how they&#8217;re dealing with it.&#8221;I worry that this might be passed on to them. It&#8217;s very scary for the future, not knowing what the next relapse would bring.&#8221;Lucy North\/PA MediaMrs Henders hopes the treatment will avoid the decline typical in MS patients, who often require a wheelchair.&#8221;It would mean I&#8217;ll be able to chase my children around, and I&#8217;ll still be able to work,&#8221; she said.&#8221;I wouldn&#8217;t be able to be a science teacher in a wheelchair or even on crutches.&#8221;It&#8217;s too much of a health and safety hazard, so that would have a real impact on my job.&#8221;A spokesperson for the MS Society said: &#8220;It&#8217;s early days but, if trial results prove successful, CAR T-cell therapy could be a gamechanger for how we treat the condition.&#8221;UCLH consultant haematologist Claire Roddie said the team was &#8220;excited&#8221; about the trial.&#8221;We are taking a treatment developed to treat cancers and re-purposing it for a whole new spectrum of conditions,&#8221; she said.&#8221;We give CAR T-cell therapy &#8211; bang, you&#8217;re in, you get the treatment, and that&#8217;s it.&#8221;Hopefully you don&#8217;t need any more drugs beyond that point.&#8221;If we could achieve that in MS, it would transform so many people&#8217;s lives.&#8221;Related storiesRelated links<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35797,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35848"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35855,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35848\/revisions\/35855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}