Drug 'does not halt' mad cow disease

AN experimental treatment for vCJD which has been hailed as a wonder drug does not halt the disease, according to a study today.

Families of those struck down by the incurable condition have credited Pentosan Polysulphate (PPS) with saving the lives of their loved ones.

Research for the Medical Research Council found that patients taking the blood-thinning drug were living for "unusually long periods".

But the publicly funded body found no evidence that PPS could stop the human form of mad cow disease, which has killed more than 160 people in the UK.

Professor Ian Bone, a consultant neurologist at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital, observed seven patients for the study.

He said: "The drug does not appear to halt the progression of the disease. Loss of brain function continues after treatment has started and, where measured by imaging, loss of brain tissue also continued."

Patients with vCJD usually live no more than 14 months, however the study found those treated with PPS were outliving this timeframe, although researchers found no conclusive link between survival and the treatment.