{
  "id": 502675,
  "title": "B.C. family finds hope in Montreal researchers to fight son’s rare disease",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/10/b-c-family-finds-hope-in-montreal-researchers-to-fight-sons-rare",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-10T20:07:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Global News",
    "slug": "global-news",
    "url": "https://globalnews.ca/news/12015854/bc-family-hope-montreal-researchers-son-rare-disease/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "At just three years old, Gurmoh Gill is battling a disease with no cure. The genetic condition, hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), causes progressive stiffness and weakness in his legs, potentially leading to loss of abilities in his arms, speech, and mental capacity. His parents, Navpreet and Stalin Gill, were overwhelmed when they first heard the diagnosis, feeling there was no hope for improvement or treatment. They began reaching out to hospitals and government agencies for assistance. In January, they received an encouraging response from Montreal’s Neuro, a beacon of hope for their family. The researchers there are now using Gurmoh’s genetic information to search for a way to target the mutation responsible for his disease. Their goal is not to reverse the damage already done, but to develop treatments that could potentially slow the progression of HSP. Ziv Gan-Or, director of clinical research at the Neuro, explained that fixing the DNA mutation causing the disease would be the best-case scenario. For the Gills, the researchers’ willingness to work with their son marked an emotional turning point. They've turned this hope into a larger mission by embarking on a \"Journey of Hope,\" traveling across Canada to raise awareness and funds, collecting letters from others with rare diseases, and delivering them to the prime minister’s office. Stalin Gill emphasized the importance of equal access to medicine, stating that every Canadian should have the right to treatment.",
  "summary": "A B.C., family is travelling across Canada in search of hope from their three-year-old son, as Montreal researchers work on a potential treatment for his rare genetic disease.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Global News",
        "title": "B.C. family finds hope in Montreal researchers to fight son’s rare disease",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/10/b-c-family-finds-hope-in-montreal-researchers-to-fight-sons-rare-503284",
        "published": "2026-08-10T20:07:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}