Elsschot
16-03-06, 09:40
Drug trial victim is like Elephant Man, says girlfriend
By Celia Hall and Amy Iggulden
(Filed: 16/03/2006)
The girlfriend of one of the most critically ill victims of a drugs trial mishap said last night that he looked like "the Elephant Man" and could die at any moment.
Myfanwy Marshall's boyfriend and another man were fighting for their lives but yesterday the four other trial participants were beginning to recover. Miss Marshall, a BBC producer, was in tears as she described her boyfriend, a 28-year-old bar manager from London.
Miss Marshall: my boy- friend needs a miracle
"He is largely lifeless," she said. "I can't even get an eyelid movement or a squeeze from his hand. He is a shell of who he is. He is completely puffed up, his face, his body: he is like the Elephant Man.
"When I walked in there, I expected to see his small face and curly black hair but he looks like a monster. He has tubes up his nose, in his heart, liver, lungs, neck and hands. They told me he could be like this for six months to a year.
"They tried to pump the drug out of his system but all his internal organs are infected. They said he could die at any moment. He needs a miracle."
All the men suffered "multi-organ inflammation" after volunteering to test a new treatment for immunological diseases and some cancers, including types of leukaemia.
It was the first time the drug, TGN1412, had been given to humans and the men's doctors are effectively dealing with an unknown condition.
The men were taken into intensive care at Northwick Park Hospital, north-west London, on Monday night and early on Tuesday from an independent research centre at the hospital run by Parexel, an international trials company.
By Celia Hall and Amy Iggulden
(Filed: 16/03/2006)
The girlfriend of one of the most critically ill victims of a drugs trial mishap said last night that he looked like "the Elephant Man" and could die at any moment.
Myfanwy Marshall's boyfriend and another man were fighting for their lives but yesterday the four other trial participants were beginning to recover. Miss Marshall, a BBC producer, was in tears as she described her boyfriend, a 28-year-old bar manager from London.
Miss Marshall: my boy- friend needs a miracle
"He is largely lifeless," she said. "I can't even get an eyelid movement or a squeeze from his hand. He is a shell of who he is. He is completely puffed up, his face, his body: he is like the Elephant Man.
"When I walked in there, I expected to see his small face and curly black hair but he looks like a monster. He has tubes up his nose, in his heart, liver, lungs, neck and hands. They told me he could be like this for six months to a year.
"They tried to pump the drug out of his system but all his internal organs are infected. They said he could die at any moment. He needs a miracle."
All the men suffered "multi-organ inflammation" after volunteering to test a new treatment for immunological diseases and some cancers, including types of leukaemia.
It was the first time the drug, TGN1412, had been given to humans and the men's doctors are effectively dealing with an unknown condition.
The men were taken into intensive care at Northwick Park Hospital, north-west London, on Monday night and early on Tuesday from an independent research centre at the hospital run by Parexel, an international trials company.