25 February 2026
In September 2025, the experimental gene therapy surgery performed by Professor Liam Gray and the team at the Advanced Neurotherapies Centre showed a 75% reduction in Huntington’s disease symptoms for patients given the therapy.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Professor Liam Gray walked Inside Health presenter James Gallagher through the MRI suite in Cardiff University hospital where the surgery took place.
The therapy, which is delivered directly into the brain using precisely placed catheters while the patient is in an MRI scanner, works by shutting down the toxic protein Huntingtin.
The procedure takes place in an MRI scanner so the infusion can be seen by the surgical team in real time. It takes a long time to deliver the surgery, because you must make sure all the catheters are correctly lined up so the infusion will be delivered to the right place. The infusions must also be delivered very slowly otherwise it will cause damage.
‘Both I and the team have huge admiration for these people,’ said Professor Liam Gray. ‘These are courageous people who are undergoing brain surgery, and they have no idea if there will be any benefit. When I operate for other types of neurosurgeries, there is a risk but there is always a benefit. In this situation, we don’t know if there’s any benefit. They are doing experimental medicine and are hugely courageous to do so.’
One such courageous person is Gareth, a patient who has Huntington’s, and who has seen the disease affect many family members. He described how Huntington’s affects people differently, from involuntary movement, affected speech, and cognitive issues. He described the disease as, ‘inevitable, but extremely unpredictable.’
Gareth took James through the day of his surgery. From being woken in the hospital and given a gown, to being introduced to the team and given anaesthetic. After being taken to the intensive care unit, he was out of bed within 24 hours and out of hospital within the week.
I thought I was in a unique position. It seemed to me as if it was innovative and hopeful of something bright at the end of it. – Gareth, trial participant
Dr Jane Davies, Senior Advanced Therapies Research Nurse at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board first approached Gareth about the trial. She works alongside patients with Huntington’s disease often from their first diagnosis and supports them through all their challenges.
‘As a research team, we live the trial with the patients. We have to be there with them every step of the way. It carries huge emotional and psychological decision to take part in one of the trials.’- Dr Jane Davies
She observed that while she feels very encouraged by the promising results of the treatment, it has been difficult, since the announcement, to receive so many enquiries about the treatment from families affected by Huntington’s across the world.
The treatment is not currently licensed anywhere and patients who could be eligible for the treatment will have to wait until it has been proven to be safe and effective before they can hope to access it.
That is now the main aim of the team at the Advanced Neurotherapies Centre, to prove the therapy is effective and to work on making the procedure shorter, faster, and more effective so this treatment can reach more people who need it.
‘This is a therapy that can be scaled up. We are now in the very early stages where we are trying to prove the therapy is effective. Once we know that, we can work on making the whole procedure shorter, faster, more effective.’
– Professor Liam Gray
Listen to the full interview or catch up on BBC Sounds
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