Tag Archives: ms society

A familiar face behind a medical breakthrough

By The Voice | Sun 1st November 2015 - 2:45 pm

Did you see the BBC report the other day about how antiretrovirals normally used to treat HIV had enabled a woman with Multiple Sclerosis to walk. The drugs had a dramatic effect:

Shana Pezaro, 36, from Hove, East Sussex, was given antiretroviral drugs after fearing she may have contracted HIV.

Within days, Miss Pezaro noticed an easing of her MS symptoms.

When a doctor saw her walking up stairs after years of using a wheelchair he set up a clinical trial.

Multiple sclerosis is an incurable condition that can lead to sight loss, pain, fatigue and disability. It affects around 100,000 people in the UK.

Miss Pezaro was a dancer and piano teacher before being diagnosed with MS at the age of 28. The condition affected her hands and feet and she used a wheelchair.

If you thought you recognised Shana, you’d have been right. She has made some fantastic speeches at Liberal Democrat Conferences outlining the practical effects of the welfare reforms enacted by the Coalition on people.

She made a video blog from the Birmingham Conference in 2011 which you can see here: