'New MS treatment could be like starting a new life'

Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) six years ago and left unable to walk unaided, Numan Unees was facing a challenging future before a pioneering clinical trial gave him new hope.

The 40-year-old is the first patient in Sheffield and the seventh in a global trial to receive an immunotherapy treatment originally developed for some cancers.

Experts said it is still early days, but if this experimental treatment eventually proves to be safe and effective for MS patients it could be a "gamechanger".

Speaking just a month after receiving the therapy, Numan, from Rotherham, said it would be "like starting a new life" if it worked and he regained some mobility.

Multiple sclerosis is a condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks nerves in the brain and spinal cord.

In MS, the nerve cells and their protective coating, called myelin, are damaged, which causes a range of symptoms like blurred vision, loss of mobility and brain fog.

The treatment, which is known as CAR T cell therapy, aims to reset part of the immune system.

It works by taking some of a patient's immune cells, known as T Cells, and modifying them in a laboratory.

They are then put back into the body, where they are designed to find and destroy the specific immune cells causing the damage in MS.

It has already shown promise in the treatment of some blood cancers, with patients achieving long-term remission where standard treatments have failed.

Researchers are now looking to see if this mechanism can be replicated in patients with autoimmune conditions such as MS and lupus.

The Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield is one of four centres in the UK taking part in the global trial and Numan was their first patient.

"It gives me hope that it will stop the MS, and from there I can begin the road to recovery with physical activity," he said.

"We want to get of the bed, and we want to be dancing."

The trial is currently open to patients aged 18 to 60 diagnosed with progressive MS who are not responding well to existing medication and whose disability is worsening.

Researchers will recruit up to 18 patients globally and the first phase is focused on testing the safety of the therapy.

Caitlin Astbury from the MS Society charity said: "Existing treatments don't work for everyone.

"It's early days but, if trial results prove successful, CAR T cell therapy could be a gamechanger for how we treat the condition. We're following the developments with interest."

Prof Basil Sharrack, consultant neurologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (STH), said the team was "delighted" to have delivered CAR T to their first patient.

"This represents a significant moment for MS patients, as by targeting and eliminating disease-causing cells in the tissues of the nervous system, CAR T offers a one-off immune system reset that could stop disability progression in this disease," he said.

Prof John Snowden, honorary consultant haematologist at STH, said the trial was in its early stages but had the potential to be a "very exciting development".

"This treatment is a novel therapy where a patient's white cells are genetically engineered to be magic bullets, actually living drugs, that can seek and destroy the abnormal immune cells that result in MS, leading to a resetting of the immune system.

"So, it's a very fundamental treatment to changing the course of the disease."

Many of the 150,000 people living with MS in the UK are diagnosed in their 30s and 40s.

Numan's progress is now being closely followed by the clinical team.

"To gain mobility back would be like starting a new life," he said.

"It would mean the world basically, as I'm quite isolated at the moment."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.