Asthma drug 'life-changing' for Jersey woman

An asthma sufferer from Jersey says a biologic drug changed her life after years of worsening symptoms and different treatments.

Carly Silvester had her first asthma attack when she was seven years old and spent years trying different treatments - until she was offered biologic treatment in her late 20s by specialists at Southampton General Hospital.

Biologic medicines are made or derived from a biological source.

Her asthma is now treated with a drug called Mepolizumab - which she injects into her stomach one a month. Silvester said her quality of life was now "unbelievable" thanks to research and specialists in Southampton.

Silvester said she remembered the first time she had an asthma attack "vividly".

She said: "I was in the UK at the time, sleeping at a friend's house. Unbeknown to me, I'd slept on a feathered pillow, which I'm allergic to, and had an asthma attack.

"I remember really vividly being in the hospital corridor then, and gasping for breath, and it's really scary, and that fear stayed with me for quite a long time."

Silvester said her symptoms worsened as she got older and, in her early 20s, they became "particularly bad", so she sought medical advice - and was offered biologic treatment by specialists at Southampton General Hospital.

She said, before this, she had tried many different treatments, such as inhalers, tablets, nebulisers and steroids.

Biologic drugs are advanced medicines derived from living organisms, such as cells, proteins, or microorganisms, according to the NHS.

They are used for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, severe asthma, and some cancers.

Silvester now has to inject herself once a month with Mepolizumab, and visits Southampton General Hospital twice a year for check-ups.

She said she was able to run the London Marathon earlier this year "in quite a respectable time", thanks to the treatment.

It comes after a donation from a Jersey couple helped to launch a university campaign to build the Institute for Medical Innovation (IMI) at the Southampton hospital, which will focus on five major disease areas - including respiratory conditions.

Silvester said the IMI centre in Southampton was "really, really exciting" and would "change many lives".

She said: "I think it's really special to me and my story...

"The treatment that I'm on... has come from years of research and clinical trials, and the expertise of these doctors and scientists that have created breakthrough treatment that has just changed my life so, so much, and I know it's going to change many lives."

IMI director Prof Paul Elkington said the IMI would deliver "smarter drugs, innovative devices, and kinder treatments for cancer, dementia, and other devastating diseases - reaching patients in years, not decades".

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