A young Belfast man suffering from variant CJD has died, ten years after he first became ill.
It is understood 26-year-old Jonathan Simms is the world's longest-known survivor of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), the human form of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or 'mad-cow disease'.
He first became unwell in May 2001 and was given just months to live.
After a court battle, his family won the right to use the experimental drug pentosan polysulphate in January 2003. It had not previously been tested on human beings.
At that time, his father, Don Simms said the decision to give their son the drug was a 'calculated risk based on 20 years of science'.
Mr Simms required intensive care in the latter stages of his illness.
His family ran a campaign from their home for better treatment for victims.
He died at his home in the Highfield estate in west Belfast.
Mr Simms was a talented footballer, having been a youth player for Glentoran Football Club.
He died over the weekend.
