Horizon follows the emotional journey of three young people with currently untreatable conditions to see if, within their lifetime, they can be cured.
Sophie Morgan is determined not to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.
She is tempted by the online claims of unregulated private clinics promising a cure using stem cells. To help her decide if she should go for treatment, she meets another paraplegic, Chris Oberle, who spent his life savings visiting an Indian clinic. She also visits Geron, the Californian clinic set to hold the first human trials using embryonic stem cells. A lot rests on the trial; if successful, it could mean treatment much sooner for Sophie and lead to cures for a range of untreatable conditions.
Anthony Bath was just 20 when his right leg was amputated. A botched pinning procedure led to an MRSA infection and, after 18 operations, the loss of his leg. Although he has continued to achieve great things on the sporting front, running marathons and sailing around the world, he would still love to have his leg back. In Finland, Anthony witnesses one of the world's first operations in
which stem cells are used to replace bone. If the procedure had been available a few years ago, his leg could have been saved.
When Dean Third collapsed, he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which his damaged heart could cause his death at any moment. His condition is stabilised by medication, but each of his children carries a 50 per cent chance of developing symptoms, too. Desperate for a cure, he visits Dr Anthony Mathur from University College London in his operating theatre to witness the world's first trial using stem cells taken from bone marrow. They are then injected directly into the muscles of the heart with the aim of regenerating the damaged heart cells.
For Sophie, Anthony and Dean, this pioneering research could mean the difference between the life they are forced to lead and the life they dream of.
Throughout the film, they reflect on what these discoveries could mean for them, and whether they really believe that, in the future, stem cells could heal them.
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