Another patient joins ground-breaking MS treatment trial at K&C Hospital

A civil servant diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) after losing the sight in her right eye is the second patient signed up to a new treatment trial.

Victoria Gladwin is taking part in an international trial of an experimental medicine that could reduce the number of relapses people with the disease have. This could ultimately slow its progression and delay the damage it causes to someone’s brain.

Researchers at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital recruited the first patient in Europe to the study, a PhD student at the University of Kent, and Victoria is the second to join the trial at the hospital.

The 40 year old, who lives in Folkestone, said: “When I was diagnosed, my consultant explained the options and told me about this trial, which is the first of its kind for MS in this country.

“It could be a game-changer, so it wasn’t a hard decision to make.

“If this treatment has the potential to do more than the other drugs available at the moment I couldn’t say no to it.”

More than two million people worldwide are affected by MS, a neurological disease with unpredictable symptoms that include vision problems, challenges with cognition, and difficulty with physical activity. It is caused when the immune system attacks healthy tissues in the brain and spinal cord, and the disease can worsen over time.

NHS researchers are working with a pharmaceutical company to test the new drug, and East Kent Hospitals neurology consultant Dr Sreedharan Harikrishnan is the lead researcher for the UK. K&C is the lead research site.

Victoria and Jiangwei Liao, the first patient recruited to the trial, have treatment once a month at the medical day unit at the hospital. The drug is given intravenously over an hour and they are closely monitored throughout, so the research team can note any side effects. The trial lasts for three years.

Victoria was diagnosed with MS after initially being told her eye issue could be down to conjunctivitis.

She said: “I woke up one morning and couldn’t see out of my right eye.

“I spoke to a pharmacist who gave me some eye drops but there was no improvement so I made an appointment with an optometrist.

“They could immediately see there was an issue with the optic nerve and wanted to call an ambulance, but instead my mum took me to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, where I spent a week having all sorts of tests before it was confirmed as MS in June this year.

“Looking back, I had experienced other symptoms, such as a numb leg and terrible fatigue and brain fog which I’d attributed to the menopause after a hysterectomy.

“My vision has improved a bit and I still work full time and carry on as normal – it will take a lot more than MS to stop me!”

Dr Harikrishnan said: “I’m delighted to welcome Victoria to this research study, which has enormous potential for patients.

“It is very exciting to be involved in this very important trial, which we hope will lead to a ground-breaking development in the treatment of MS.”