A MOTHER who lost her son to the human form of BSE is closely monitoring the use of a new treatment.

The experimental drug Pentosan Polysulphate (PPS) has been used on a 19-year-old with the deadly brain disease vCJD in the hope that it will halt its spread.

Medical experts report promising results in the Belfast teenager, with small improvements in his neurological functions.

The established drug is currently used to treat arthritis in dogs and is now to be used on two other CJD patients to try to prevent their condition deteriorating.

Frances Hall, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, secretary of the Human BSE Foundation, said the group was cautiously optimistic about the drug, but was not hailing it as a cure.

Mrs Hall joined the foundation after she lost her son, Peter, 20, to the disease in 1996, and has run a helpline for four-and-a-half years for families of people who have the disease.

She said: "If it does stop the disease developing in people, it is a step forward.

"I do not think we are going to see people who have been unable to walk suddenly get back on their feet again.

"But it is the first time there has been anything that has shown any hope."

Despite claims made by scientists earlier this year that the human form of BSE had passed its peak, Mrs Hall said she had not seen a decrease in the number of families coming to her for help.

Researchers at the National CJD Surveillance Unit announced the death rate had reached its highest point in 2000, when the disease killed 28 people.

Mrs Hall said: "We keep hearing numbers are dropping, but it seems to be fairly consistent as far as I can see.

"I am being contacted by the same number of families now as previously.

"We just keep our fingers crossed that the numbers do not increase drastically."