{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreih6oqkzxhbjshcbzo7yyxi3gkgcsqjvh5644vv22apc4jiwsrxue4",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:b7afdzqsmwksxypciqnplglk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mn4vuqdfv4b2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreia3oer6dsbvkwgqw2hykdtzowfckpltv527r7s33tru7d7z5l6keq"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 111359
  },
  "path": "/2026/05/31/london-couple-heart-first-of-its-kind-alzheimers-treatment-28553481/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-31T06:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "News",
    "UK",
    "Health News",
    "London",
    "school",
    "work",
    "How gangs are targeting Londoners on nights out by drugging and robbing them",
    "I went to Magnolia Bakery in the UK — one item is worth the hype",
    "New Tube strike dates announced after May walkout cancelled at 11th hour",
    "London news hub",
    "check our news page",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source"
  ],
  "textContent": "Denis with his wife Penny, who has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s (Picture: UCLH)\n\nWhen Penny forgot about a lunch date to meet her daughter’s in-laws for the first time, her husband of 45-years knew it was time to go to the doctors.\n\nDenis Horton, 75, was familiar with the signs of memory loss. His friend’s wife had developed dementia just five years earlier, so he was attuned to what could be put down to ageing, and what couldn’t.\n\nPenny, 74, is a ‘voracious reader’ and attentive grandma to her three grandchildren.\n\nShe was organised and on top of everyone and everything in her life, having had a long career in the social services before her retirement in 2019.\n\nBut in 2019, she started to struggle to remember dates, directions in familiar areas and exciting plans.\n\nShe became confused while travelling to a London restaurant to meet her daughter’s partner’s family for the first time\n\n‘That’s when I knew to get her checked out,’ Denis said.\n\nPenny decided to take part in the trial at UCLH following her diagnosis (Picture: UCLH)\n\nWhat followed was plenty of tests, different doctors and trips to clinics across London.\n\nAt first, medics at the Acton Memory Clinic were unsure whether Penny had any memory loss problems. But eventually, after blood and cognitive testing, she was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers.\n\n‘It was difficult to come to terms with,’ Denis said. ‘Especially because we were, and still are, very happy together.’\n\nThe couple had met at school in Grimsby, when Denis was 18 and Penny was 16. They had moved to west London, for work and raised four children together.\n\nThey are regular theatre-goers, as well as avid walkers, making the reality of their future hard to swallow.\n\n##  Latest London news\n\n  * How gangs are targeting Londoners on nights out by drugging and robbing them\n  * I went to Magnolia Bakery in the UK — one item is worth the hype\n  * New Tube strike dates announced after May walkout cancelled at 11th hour\n\n\n\n_**To get the latest news from the capital, visit Metro's** London news hub._\n\nDenis said: ‘Things aren’t as they were, with Penny repeatedly asking a lot of the same questions. But I remind myself to be patient, and aside fromt that we remain a happy couple going about our normal lives.’\n\nPenny and Denis with Professor Catherine Mummery who is leading the research (Picture: UCLH)\n\nThey immeadiately launched into action finding the best course of treatment to try and delay the disease from developing.\n\nThe answer lay in numerous trials, and after researching what would be the best course of action for them, they came across University College Hospital’s pioneering clinical study.\n\nBrain inflammation is a feature of Alzheimer’s progression, and scientists are exploring whether treating this and improving the brain’s natural repair processes helps slow the disease.\n\nThis is the first-of-its-kind approach to treatment, and led by Professor Catherine Mummery, they are developing ImmunoBrain’s new antibody.\n\nAnd results so far are promising. There are no adverse side effects and researchers have observed trends which would indicate improvement.\n\nProfessor Mummery said: ‘Without volunteers we have no trials, and without trials we have no progress. At the moment, we are making real progress in the study of Alzheimer’s—and that is down to people like [Penny].\n\n‘There is still a clear need for new treatments that can address the underlying biology of Alzheimer’s disease.\n\n‘These findings suggest that working with the immune system in a different way may offer a promising new direction. While this research is still at an early stage, it is encouraging to see signals that support further study.’\n\n******Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.******\n\n**For more stories like this,** check our news page.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "The London couple at the heart of ‘first-of-its-kind’ Alzheimer’s treatment"
}