Please sponsor John Barratt for the CJD Support Network.
John has been awarded our   "Silver Bond"  place in the London Marathon
on Sunday 28 April this year.

 John is running in memory of his wife's sister Catherine Francke and to raise money for the CJD Support Network. 

To donate, or view John's Just Giving page, please click here. The page will open in a new window.

Johnl welcomes all sponsorship donations, which will help the Network to continue to support patients, families and carers, affected by this terrible disease. Donations from the public is now the only source of income for the CJD Support Network

 John says, "Though this will be my 3rd London and my 5th Marathon, it's seven years since  my last  run at this crazy distance....arrghh.....so it'll be tough, but, I’m doing this for a great cause.

It was with much sadness that my wife lost a truly wonderful person, her sister Catherine, who very sadly became ill with Sporadic CJD, only diagnosed last year and just 51 years old. This was devastating to her Dear Husband, two wonderful sons, a Dear Brother, my Dear wife and Cath's Dear Sister now in Oz and of course many friends and other family members It was so painful seeing her and the family suffer with this quite devastating illness. It was truly heart-breaking. Catherine and the family battled til the last, when she sadly could hold on no more. But she left us with such dignity and grace, it was peaceful, with the family there with her.

In October 2018, University College London Hospital (UCLH) began treating a patient with Sporadic CJD, with the PRN100 drug, which has been developed by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit, at University College London. This drug, which had not been used in humans before, was administered after a judge confirmed that although the drug is unlicenced, it was lawful and in the patient’s best interests for them to receive treatment.

Four Patients have now received this antibody treatment. Sadly the third patient, who had a very aggressive form of sporadic CJD, has  died as a result of their condition.

UCLH’s chief executive Professor Marcel Levi said: “On behalf of UCLH, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the patient’s family and loved ones. They are in our thoughts at this difficult time.”

The fourth patient has just started treatment, whilst the other surviving patients, have not experienced any side effects to date.

Professor John Collinge, director of the MRC Prion Unit at UCL, said: “All of these patients were at different stages of their disease when they began to receive the antibody. It is too early to determine if, or to what extent, the treatment has had an impact on their condition.”

To go to the full article on the UCLH website, please click here 

To see all News items, please click here

We have places available for anyone wishing to raise money for the CJD Support Network by running in the London Marathon 

The Network receives no statutory funding and so is totally reliant on public fundraising and in memoriam donations

Places in the Marathon, which is on Sunday 28 April 2019, are like gold dust, so to register your interest or to book a place, please contact us

To see all News items, please click here 

 by Richard Knight 
Consultant Neurologist 
Chairman CJD Support Network  

Introduction 
Understandably, the identification of a new case of BSE in Scotland might cause renewed public concern about the risk of vCJD through human diet. However, this latest report does not change our understanding of the actual risk to humans. A few points should be made to put this event into context, in particular, issues regarding BSE in cattle and the risk to humans.