Surgeon’s hands saved by gene-silencing drug

A pioneering gene-silencing drug has saved the career of a British surgeon with a rare hereditary disease that threatened to rob him of the use of his hands.

Carlos Heras-palou suffered from transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, which destroys nerves in his hands. But after undergoing 18 months of treatment with the drug Patisiran, the condition has not only halted but appears to have gone into reverse.

Mr Heras-palou, an orthopaedic surgeon, was one of two UK patients taking part in the trial. He said: “My whole career depends on my hands and having a good hand-function.”