A Nebraska woman has become the first person in the world to receive a new treatment for multiple sclerosis, a disease that affects nearly a million people in the United States. Doctors say the approach could reshape how autoimmune conditions are managed, though it is still in the earliest stages of clinical trials.
The patient, Jan Janisch-Hanzlik, was diagnosed seven years ago and quickly found that conventional medications weren’t working. After being referred to Dr. Rana Zabad at Nebraska Medicine, she was offered the chance to try an experimental therapy known as allogenic CAR T-cell therapy. Let’s take a look at her story, the treatment, and what it could mean for the future of MS care.
A patient willing to take the first step
Janisch-Hanzlik’s symptoms began suddenly, with numbness spreading from her toes up the right side of her body. Soon after her diagnosis, she struggled with worsening mobility, frequent falls, and fatigue. Standard treatments for MS, including disease-modifying therapies, did little to slow her decline.
Within months, her doctors realized she was not responding to medications. That’s when Dr. Zabad introduced her to the experimental trial. The treatment, still in its earliest phase, involves using donor T-cells that are genetically engineered to target the immune system’s malfunctioning cells.
For the patient, the decision was difficult but also empowering. She said she agreed not just for her own health, but to advance options for the wider MS community.
The first round of therapy was carried out under close monitoring. Specialists, including Dr. Matt Lunning, explained that the genetic modifications allow donor T-cells to “cloak” themselves, preventing the patient’s immune system from rejecting them. This ability to bypass immune defenses is what makes the treatment so different from other therapies.
Signs of hope and what comes next in MS treatment
Within two months, Janisch-Hanzlik began noticing real changes. She described feeling stronger, walking with more ease, and having enough energy to get through the day without the naps she once depended on. While she admitted she still can’t run the way she did, she can now jump again, something that once felt impossible.
Her doctors called her response remarkable, praising her for being the first to step forward. “The bravery that she has shown in being that first patient in the world to do this … thank you”, Dr. Lunning said. The team at Nebraska Medicine now reports a long waitlist of people eager to join the trial.
For researchers, the next steps are about proving safety and effectiveness through phase two and phase three trials. CAR T-cell therapy has already been used in oncology to treat certain blood cancers, but applying it to autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis is entirely new territory. Experts caution that what works for one patient may not work for all, and MS remains a highly individualized condition.
Even so, Janisch-Hanzlik’s progress offers a glimpse of what could be possible. Her story is now fueling hope not just in Nebraska, but in MS communities across the country. As trials expand, patients and doctors will be watching closely to see if this therapy can move from experimental promise to a new standard of care.