A multiple sclerosis sufferer from Petersfield who watched his brother die of the disease is hoping a new drug could turn his life around.

Matthew Griffiths and his family are pinning their hopes on Aimspro, a new MS treatment, currently undergoing trials.

The family, from the Herne Farm Estate, has been torn apart by the degenerative disease that claimed the life of their eldest son, Simon, in 2003.

Now Matthew is battling with MS, and after seeing the results of the earlier Aimspro trials, he is hoping the treatment could help alleviate his condition.

But the drug, developed by Daval International Limited, is unlikely to be generally available for at least another 12 months, and now the family are doing all they can to get Matthew included in the next set of trials, which are due to begin in October.

Matthew, who has a PhD in genetics, was diagnosed with the disease in March 2001 at the age of 34.

He was then working at Birmingham City Hospital as a research scientific officer and was engaged to be married.

In 2002, following several periods of absence from work due to his illness, the hospital did not renew his contract, and after Matthew returned home to Petersfield in April 2003 his relationship came to an end.

Just weeks later his older brother Simon, who was diagnosed with MS in 1991, died of the disease.

Since 2001 Matthew's condition has deteriorated, and he now has difficulty reading a newspaper without the use of a magnifying glass. He also has ataxia in his left leg and walks with the aid of an elbow crutch.

But MS sufferers who have trialed the Aimspro drug have reported remarkable improvements in their condition, and the Griffiths family have now written to the company asking for Matthew to be included in the next round of trials.

Matthew told The Herald this week: "Our problem at the moment is lots of MS sufferers have seen things about the drug and there are lots of sufferers who want to get on the trial, which creates a long list".

Matthew's father, Phil, said the family found out about the pioneering drug, derived from goats' serum, through friends who had a daughter suffering from MS.

"They sent us a short video about a couple of people who had had the treatment and had dramatic results from it," said Phil.

"They sent it to us in March time and we have been trying to run with it since then."

The Herald was unable to contact Daval International Limited before going to press.