May 1, 2010 Newsletter
SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!
It was a beautiful warm spring day; the kind that makes one say good riddance to winter. Nature has awakened as if to say that it’s a new season full of beauty and unknown possibilities looking forward. This was also our cumulative mindset at the meeting as we spent most of the meeting talking about CCSVI and the tremendous possibility it presents to the MS Community. People who have had this outpatient vascular clearing of their jugular veins are presenting incredible improvements. The kind that most of us have put on the shelf of forsaken hopes and dreams. Dr. Paolo Zamboni of Italy has brought us a whole new theory that he has done a blinded study of and presented to the world. It makes us so incredibly hopeful that there is actually something that can stop progression and make us better. Amid the enthusiasm come the regulators putting a halt to this procedure until more studies are done. The strong opposition comes from neurologists who just can’t accept the vascular idea, drug companies who would lose billions with this non-drug procedure, MS Societies that are trying to get a grip and find their role, and mostly the lawyers hired to protect everyone’s possible liability.
This angioplasty is done on veins all the time, however because of the specific diagnostic testing unique to stenosis of the jugular veins in MS patients a red flag is raised requiring more testing. Of course, testing makes sense to fine tune the procedure and see the affects on MS although given the stunning results so far we can only feel disheartened. It is hard to wait when the clock is ticking so many people are now traveling to Poland, India and now Scotland who has opened up a center. Many of us are following this very closely and hope everyone is at least paying attention. On the internet there are many sites. On Facebook sign in to CCSVI in Northern California for local news, CCSVI in Multiple Sclerosis for a broader perspective and watch the daily activity. Currently, we would like to see people come together to advocate, for the testing & treatment of CCSVI. If we don’t do this no one else will.
This brings us hope and we see this as our spring flower ready to bloom!