First UK patient receives CAR T-cell therapy for MS

Credit: PA Media/Lucy North

By Jane Kirby, PA Media

A biology teacher has become the first patient in the UK to receive a “gamechanger” therapy to treat multiple sclerosis.

The CAR T-cell treatment, which consultants believe could “transform” lives by halting or slowing down progression of the disease, is custom-built for each patient in the lab.

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

CAR T for MS modifies the T cells to recognise and kill B cells, which are known to cause damage and allow MS to advance.

Emily Henders, 37, from Bushey, Hertfordshire, received her CAR T last week at University College London Hospital (UCLH) as part of a global clinical trial into whether it can treat MS.

The mother-of-two, who has sons aged six and four and is married to Brandon, told the PA news agency she was feeling well after receiving the infusion in a three-minute procedure.