![\"Kirsty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_Kirsty-Hosford-1.jpg\")
Kirsty Hosford was diagnosed with secondary progressive MS in 2010<\/p>\n\u201cSince I was diagnosed there\u2019s not been any treatments available for me, so when I saw this trial was starting I thought \u2018why not?\u2019\u201dKirsty Hosford was diagnosed with secondary progressive MS in 2010<\/p>\n
A Co Down woman has opened up about taking part in a world-first trial for progressive multiple sclerosis (MS).<\/p>\n
Kirsty Hosford, 52, from Newtownards<\/a>, joined the MS Society-funded Octopus trial in Belfast in November 2023. She was diagnosed with secondary progressive MS in 2010 and medically retired as a Veterinary Surgeon four years ago.<\/p>\n Octopus is a multi-arm, multi-stage (MAMS) trial, designed to transform the way treatments for progressive MS are tested. Its focus is on existing drugs already approved for the treatment of other conditions, but which may also work to slow down or reverse MS progression.<\/p>\n READ MORE: How mum’s memories and wife’s MS diagnosis inspired Omagh man’s debut novel<\/a>READ MORE: Dundrum woman’s shock MS diagnosis at 30 and just before wedding came ‘out of the blue’<\/a><\/p>\n Multiple drugs are tested at once, rather than testing one drug at a time against a placebo. This method works up to three times faster than traditional trials.<\/p>\n Kirsty said: \u201cSince I was diagnosed there\u2019s not been any treatments available for me, so when I saw this trial was starting I thought \u2018why not?\u2019. It\u2019s great being on a trial as it means you get more regular contact with a neurology team. Every six months I\u2019m visiting the hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cThese regular check-ups have really helped me mentally<\/a>. It\u2019s also motivated me to keep going with physical activity<\/a> and other activities like physio that help me manage my MS.<\/p>\n \u201cThe team at the hospital have been great \u2013 they’re really friendly and approachable. I would say to anyone out there living with progressive MS to give this trial a go. I hope the trial will find something that stops progression, that would be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n MS is a health<\/a> condition that affects the brain and spinal cord. This impacts how people<\/a> move, think and feel. More than 150,000 people live with MS in the UK; around 5,300 of those are in Northern Ireland<\/a>. Those people living with progressive MS have little to stop their MS getting worse.<\/p>\n The MS Society-funded trial Octopus opened in Belfast in September 2023. It is being led in Northern Ireland by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust<\/a> alongside researchers from Queen’s University<\/a> Belfast. The Belfast site, led by Consultant Neurologist Dr Gavin McDonnell, has recruited over 50 people aged 25-70 living with primary or secondary progressive MS and is urging more people to come forward to reach its target.<\/p>\n Stewart Finn, Northern Ireland Director at the MS Society, said: \u201cOctopus is a first-of-its-kind trial for MS and we\u2019re pleased that people in Northern Ireland have the opportunity to take part. This is one of the first trials for people with more advanced disability, many of whom don\u2019t have access to any treatments. It\u2019s vital that we find treatments for this group of people living with the condition.<\/p>\n \u201cPatients have been recruited from every county and Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, with the substantial majority travelling from outside Belfast. If you\u2019re living with progressive MS, wherever you are in Northern Ireland, I would encourage you to find out more about the Octopus trial. There is funding available to cover travel costs.\u201d<\/p>\n Consultant Neurologist Dr Gavin McDonnell, who is leading the trial in Northern Ireland, added: \u201cWe\u2019re delighted to have recruited almost 60 people from Northern Ireland to Octopus so far, and we\u2019re following up with those who have already expressed an interest in taking part.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we\u2019re urging people with primary or secondary progressive MS to continue to register their interest in the trial. The trial is based in Belfast, but patients from across Northern Ireland can take part. And unlike many other trials, Octopus is open to a broad range of patients, including those with more advanced mobility issues.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the Belfast site, 14 other sites are currently open around the UK, including Southampton, Coventry, and Edinburgh. The first Octopus site opened in London in spring 2023, and there will eventually be up to 30 sites throughout the UK.<\/p>\n Octopus is being funded by donations to the MS Society\u2019s Stop MS Appeal. The appeal hopes to raise \u00a3100 million by the end of 2025 to help find treatments that could slow or stop the build-up of disability for everyone with MS. The Queen Square MS Centre and MRC Clinical Trials Unit at University College London (UCL), where the first Octopus site is based, is the trial sponsor.<\/p>\n For more information about the trial and to register your interest in taking part, please visit www.ukmsregister.org\/octopus<\/a>.<\/p>\n Be is your home for all things lifestyle – from health and beauty, to work life and parenting, careers and cooking to fashion and features, and everything in between.<\/p>\n So to make sure you don’t miss out on the things that matter to you, we’ve created a brand-new newsletter pulling the best of Be’s content together twice a week.<\/p>\n To sign up, simply enter your email address here<\/a> and we’ll do the rest.<\/p>\n For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here<\/a> and sign up to our Be lifestyle newsletter<\/a> for all the latest showbiz, fashion, beauty, family features and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cSince I was diagnosed there\u2019s not been any treatments available for me, so when I saw this trial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152043,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[9139,2861,34489,59,102,63822,1647,2207,9184,2205,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-152042","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-belfast-trust","9":"tag-co-down","10":"tag-fitness-and-wellbeing","11":"tag-gb","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-newtownards","14":"tag-northern-ireland","15":"tag-people","16":"tag-queens-university","17":"tag-real-life","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Kirsty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1_Kirsty-Hosford-1.jpg\")
Kirsty medically retired as a Veterinary Surgeon four years ago<\/p>\n![\"Kirsty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_Kirsty-Hosford.jpg\")
Kirsty joined the Octopus trial in Belfast in November 2023<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_MISS-NIJPG.jpg\")
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