Teenager gets untested CJD treatment

A teenager suffering from the human version of Mad-Cow disease yesterday began a controversial and untested treatment which his family sees as the only hope of saving his life.

Jonathan Simms, 18, from Belfast, who was struck down with variant CJD a year ago, had an infusion of a drug previously tested only on animals injected directly into his brain.

The treatment at a British hospital, which cannot be named for legal reasons, came only after his family fought a battles in the High Courts in London and Belfast.