A patient with vCJD who showed 鈥渞emarkable鈥 improvement after a controversial
drug treatment has died after reportedly suffering liver damage. Rachel Forber
was diagnosed with the human form of mad cow disease in June. Two months later
she began a course of chlorpromazine, an antipsychotic, and quinacrine, which is
normally used against malaria. Laboratory tests suggested that both drugs can
block the formation of prions, which cause vCJD. 鈥淚t鈥檚 terrible for hope to be
given and then snatched away like that. We鈥檙e right back where we started with
no cure,鈥 says Francis Hall of Britain鈥檚 Human BSE Foundation. But authorities
including Britain鈥檚 Medical Research Council say her death will not slow
preparations for full-scale trials of the drugs on patients in the US and
Britain.
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