- A coroner has warned that an unknown number of people
could contract vCJD from human growth hormones. Barry Metcalf, from Worksop,
died aged 33 after contracting the human form of BSE when he was injected
with the hormone as a child.
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- On Thursday, Nottinghamshire coroner Dr Nigel Chapman
recorded a verdict of death from a disease caused by the injection of human
growth hormones.
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- Between 1958 and 1985, 1,900 youngsters were injected
with the hormone.
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- Gym collapse
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- Barry Metcalfe's father William told Nottingham Coroner's
Court on Thursday how his son had received growth hormones in childhood
to make him taller.
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- The hearing was told the keep-fit enthusiast's condition
started to decline swiftly after he experienced a loss of balance at the
gym in 2002.
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- Before he died in December 2003, he had lost all movement,
was unable to speak, and could only communicate by blinking.
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- Dr Chapman commented: "I said in the very first
(vCJD) inquest that this was a time bomb waiting to explode.
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- "We do not know how many of those children will
develop CJD.
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- "We understand that about 45 have, but what the
future holds, we don't know.
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- "And that would be a question to ask those more
expert than myself, but yes, there could well be more."
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- © BBC MMIV
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/3569069.stm
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