SSS- Wow hey???Well,
I guess funding clinical trials for surgical procedures makes sense as opposed to our MS treatment ?
lets just cut people open and widen their neck veins.. that will work! We will fund them to clinical trials!!!! BRILLIANT!!!
Stem cell may have an actual treatment and where is the Money for funding us?
HMMMM????????????
here we sit at 7 cents!!!! BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ottawa funds clinical trials of controversial MS treatment
CARLY WEEKS
Globe and Mail Update
Published Wednesday, Jun. 29, 2011 3:20PM EDT
Last updated Wednesday, Jun. 29, 2011 4:43PM EDT
In a surprise move, the federal government announced Wednesday it will fund clinical trials into a controversial vein-widening procedure to treat multiple sclerosis.
The procedure, which was made popular by Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni, involves widening the neck veins of MS patients in order to alleviate their symptoms. Dr. Zamboni believes MS is caused by blocked or malformed veins, a condition he calls chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, and that symptoms can be treated with simple surgery to widen the veins.
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The decision is a victory for thousands of MS patients who have been using political rallies, social networking sites and letter-writing campaigns to get funding for the procedure.
But many medical experts remain concerned about the treatment, particularly as mounting scientific evidence has cast doubt on the veracity of Dr. Zamboni’s theory about blocked veins. Many studies, including one by a close ally of Dr. Zamboni, have failed to find blocked veins in a high number of MS patients. In addition, many studies have found blocked veins in healthy patients.
Last year, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research determined that the federal government should not fund trials of the vein-widening procedure because there was no consensus on how CCSVI should be diagnosed in patients and too many unanswered questions about the treatment. But the panel recommended the establishment of a scientific committee to determine how best to diagnose CCSVI and further review the scientific literature to decide if clinical trials into the treatment should be allowed in Canada.
Thousands of Canadians have travelled as far as Costa Rica, India and Poland to get the treatment from private medical clinics, often at very high costs. At least two patients, including one Canadian, died after getting the treatment and many more have experienced serious side effects.
Advocates of CCSVI have said the federal government should support research into the treatment so patients don’t have to travel overseas, potentially putting themselves at risk.