The family of a Belfast teenager who suffers from the brain disease variant CJD will travel to London tomorrow in an attempt to find a hospital willing to facilitate a radical new drug treatment.
In the High Court in London on Tuesday, the family won the right to have their son receive the controversial treatment.
Mr Jonathon Simms (18), from the Shankill area of the city, showed signs of the disease last year. His family are looking for a suitable hospital to inject pentosan polysulphate, which comes from the shavings of beechwood trees, into his brain. The drug, which has not yet been tested on humans, is believed to slow down the degenerative effects of vCJD.
Mr Simms's father, Don, said: "In a year, Johnathon's condition has deteriorated quite significantly. It is very important we get this treatment."
The case set a legal precedent that could radically alter the way unproven treatments are used in people with a terminal illness. However, a hospital trust which had been lined up to carry out the treatment is still refusing to do so, even though doctors there are happy to go ahead.
