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In a UK first, Pakistani doctor treats thalassaemia patients through gene therapy
LONDON: British-Pakistani paediatric consultant Dr Sher Bahadur Anjum has successfully treated two young thalassaemia patients through gene therapy, transforming their lives to complete normality — for the first time in the UK.
Dr Anjum, who specialises in haematology (blood disorders) at Newham Hospital in East London, part of Barts Health NHS Trust, led a team of carers at the Newham Hospital to treat the two young boys, now aged 11 and 13, of Bangladeshi background.
Thalassemia is a genetic condition that is most common in those who are Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi. It is a blood disorder, and people with thalassemia have low iron and oxygen levels in the body. This can make them severely anaemic — tired, short of breath, and pale.
To treat their thalassemia, the two patients needed to go to the hospital for blood transfusions every month, which had a major impact on their quality of life. The only cure is a stem cell or bone marrow transplant, but this is not done very often because of the risks involved, and it can be difficult to find donors.
Thanks to an innovative new gene therapy administered by Dr Anjum and his team, working with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), the two young boys, now aged 11 and 13, are now living healthy, happy lives without further hospital visits or regular blood transfusions.
Before getting the 4-week treatment at GOSH, Dr Anjum and the healthcare team at Newham Hospital conducted extensive pre-gene therapy care over three months, which included blood testing, vaccinations and maintaining the correct haemoglobin levels. Their care at Newham also continued long after the treatment, with monitoring, blood counts and managing the side effects.
When Dr Anjum first approached the families, they were both hesitant to start this therapy as it was new, and requires an initial longer hospital stay. However, after almost 12 months of speaking to them, listening and answering their questions and concerns, they were reassured to start the treatment for their children.
Now their lives have changed forever thanks to the treatment, and they want to encourage other South Asian parents to take up the offer if doctors find them eligible.
Dr Anjum, who originally studied in Gilglit Baltistan’s Astoria village and then Abbottabad Medical College (AMC) told Geo News: “Gene therapy is a new treatment that aims to fix the problem at its root. Doctors take some of your child’s own blood stem cells, add a healthy copy of the gene needed to make haemoglobin, and then return these cells to the body after special preparation. The goal is that your child’s body starts making enough haemoglobin on its own, so they no longer need regular blood transfusions. In many children, this has already worked successfully.
“Both of my patients had grown up knowing nothing but hospital visits and transfusions. Their parents had shouldered years of emotional and practical struggles, doing everything possible to keep their children well. When Barts Health NHS Trust was asked to identify patients for the new gene therapy programme, we saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“But convincing the families was not simple. Gene therapy is new, complex, and frightening to parents who have already endured so much. Understandably, both families were hesitant and fearful of risks. It took almost a year of continuous conversations, reassurance, and building trust before they agreed. At the Great Ormond Street Hospital, I was given an honorary contract so I could support the children and their families before, during, and after the procedure. The therapy itself was intense, requiring months of preparation, but the courage of these families carried them through.
“Six months on, the transformation is extraordinary. These children, once tethered to hospital beds and transfusion schedules, are now living normal lives without the need for blood transfusions. Their energy has returned, their futures are brighter, and their families have finally been released from the unending cycle of hospital visits.”
Dr Anjum said that for the first time, families affected by thalassaemia can imagine a future where their children are free from the shadow of chronic illness. “It shows the power of gene therapy to turn despair into hope, and it highlights what collaboration within the NHS can achieve when we put patients and families at the heart of care.”
Prince Andrew is being stripped of his titles and must surrender his lease to Royal Lodge, the mansion in Windsor where he lives, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.
“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor,” the statement said. “Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.”
Andrew had recently said he would stop using his royal titles and honors, including the Duke of York, but Thursday’s statement on behalf of King Charles III and Queen Camilla initiated the formal process of revoking all his titles, including prince.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the statement said.
Andrew has come under intense scrutiny over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and accusations from Virginia Giuffre that she was trafficked to engage in sex with the prince while she was underage. Andrew has denied the allegations. He reached a settlement with Giuffre in 2022. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year.
“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse,” the statement said.
Giuffre’s family said Thursday in a statement provided to CBS News’ partner network BBC News, “Today, an ordinary American girl from an ordinary American family, brought down a British prince with her truth and extraordinary courage.”
“Today, she declares victory. We, her family, along with her survivor sisters, continue Virginia’s battle and will not rest until the same accountability applies to all of the abusers and abettors connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” said the statement sent on behalf of her brother, Sky Roberts, and sister-in-law, Amanda.
In a memoir published posthumously, Giuffre detailed her alleged encounters with Andrew.
“He was friendly enough, but still entitled — as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright,” she wrote. “The next morning, [Ghislaine] Maxwell told me: ‘You did well. The prince had fun.’ Epstein would give me $15,000 for servicing the man the tabloids called ‘Randy Andy.'”
In 2022, Andrew gave up his military affiliations, royal patronages and official public duties. He also stopped using the title “His Royal Highness.”
Andrew had faced heavy criticism from the British public over his living arrangements, with many voicing concern that he continued to live in his mansion on a royal estate despite the accusations leveled against him and his retreat from royal duties.
His 75-year lease for Royal Lodge, signed in 2003, included an up-front payment of around 8 million pounds (around $10.5 million) and an annual rent described as a “peppercorn,” meaning an extremely small amount, according to BBC News. Part of that payment was for renovations to the property, which at the time was in a state of disrepair, and Buckingham Palace felt that having Andrew pay the cost to upgrade the property was better than using public funds, BBC reported.
The lease had previously been referred to as “cast iron,” and Buckingham Palace said it needed to negotiate with Andrew in order to remove him, but did not provide further information about the details of those negotiations.
Buckingham Palace said Andrew will move out of the residence as soon as possible and will move to a property on the Sandringham estate, located about 100 miles north of London.
King Charles has seemingly broken silence on Prince Andrew situation.
His Majesty has taken a final decision on his defamed brother and has opted for a complete exile of the Duke of York.
In an official statement revealed by the Buckingham Palace, the monarch is seen extending his sympathy to Prince Andrew’s alleged sexual abuse victim, Virginia Giuffre.
Royal expert Rebecca English has quoted in a statement from the Buckingham Palace: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.”
She further writes on X: “Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His Iease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continuc in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation.”
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continucs to deny the allegations against him.
“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse,” she notes.
Taylor Sheridan, best known for creating the Yellowstone universe, is set to write a movie on Call of Duty with Peter Berg, as he will also direct the film.
The duo have been friends for decades, as their friendship also turned into collaboration on projects such as Hell or High Water, which went on to get four nominations in the Academy Awards.
The report comes on the heels of the filmmaker opting for NBCUniversal after working for years with Paramount. His deal with them begins in 2029.
It’s unclear what the plot of the movie is, but it’s based on the widely popular video game.
In other news, Taylor, who is behind the hit Yellowstone, is said to be at odds with the series’ lead star, Kevin Costner, over creative vision.
“Obviously, when Yellowstone first began, it was Kevin’s show,” an insider previously told Us Weekly. “He was the major star and the draw, and everyone knew that.”
But the Oscar winner “felt he was the authority on what made things feel authentic to the subject matter.”
On this, the insider added, “Everything about this franchise is Taylor’s creation, his baby. So that was an area of tension, for sure.”
“It’s fair to say that there was a bit of a power struggle between Kevin and Taylor, especially as the seasons went on,” the source concluded.
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