CCSVI and its possible relationship to Multiple Sclerosis

A recent flurry of newspaper and TV stories about an Italian researcher, Dr. Paolo Zamboni, has created a lot of hope and interest among the MS community, due to his claim that a procedure that he claims as simple will "liberate" patients from their disease. He bases his statements only upon observations that he has made concerning the presence of blockages or kinks in large veins that drain from the brain and spinal cord and calls this CCSVI (chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency). By putting in special wires through the groin and passing them up to the area of blockade, he claims to have opened the venous blockages and "cured" the disease.

As neurologists working at the Canadian Network of MS Clinics (CNMSC), we are always interested to learn of new theories or potential treatments that may help better understand the MS disease process or to treat it. At the same time, we have always demanded that any theory be based on solid scientific evidence and that any claim of a treatment success be subject to peer review and scrutiny. Dr. Zamboni's observations have yet to be reproduced by others and his theories do not seem to explain many of the aspects of MS we've come to understand over the years. For this reason it is important for researchers to seek out the truth regarding Dr. Zamboni's claims, and this is now going to be supported by a special effort put forth by the MS Society of Canada.

The MS community has seen and heard of many "treatments and claimed cures" over the years, which have usually turned out to be false. Until the observations regarding CCSVI can be verified and the potential treatment based upon these findings is shown to be safe and effective the CNMSC strongly recommends that patients DO NOT seek to have their veins studied by techniques that have not been standardized, nor should patients be asking for treatments based on these findings that have not been proven. The placement of catheters within great veins to unblock or straighten them requires particular expertise and experience, which most of our neuroradiologists lack. Potential harm can come if the wires fed through the groin and passed within the body to get at veins located in the neck or around the spinal cord, break through the vessel wall, or if they cause bleeding, clotting or infection. Once trials are developed and start up in Canada, interested and eligible patients are welcome to participate in them, where they will be studied or treated within a clear ethically approved protocol. More importantly, we urge our patients NOT to stop their current treatments, nor should they change their management plans in favour of trying to obtain Dr. Zamboni's "Liberation treatment".