Dear Pharmacist,
I have a friend with multiple sclerosis (MS) who lives overseas. She used to be disabled, and she tells me she is cured after vein surgery in her neck. She said she had CCSVI whatever that is. I also have MS, but I can’t find a doctor in Florida who knows anything about this. Can you help?
--A.L. Miami, FL
Answer: The procedure is dubbed “The Liberation Treatment” and it’s still experimental here. Our medical establishment moves painfully slow and there’s little incentive to embrace this. Need I say more, or can I just bite my lip?
Allow me to introduce you to Dr. Paolo Zamboni, a Professor at the University of Ferrara in Italy. Have you ever been inspired to learn more about a medical problem because someone you love was sick? That’s exactly what happened to Dr. Zamboni who was trained as a vascular surgeon. A disability now prevents him from working in that capacity. Little did he know that his educational training would save his beloved, and potentially millions more in years to come. Desperate to find a cure for his MS-stricken wife, Zamboni discovered that people with MS have a higher incidence of constricted veins in their neck! Dr. Zamboni’s research is turning the MS world upside down because MS is thought to be an auto-immune disease, not a vascular condition.
CCSVI stands for Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency. This medical term just describes a situation of narrowed veins. Doctors can see the veins with a non-invasive test such as a Doppler ultrasound. Think of your garden hose. If it’s squeezed off, water doesn’t flow. Same with your azygos vein, or your jugular veins. If restricted, circulation is compromised, then blood (and iron in the blood) slowly reflux, and accumulate in your brain and spinal cord, resulting in neurological issues. The excess iron load damages cells. I suspect that other dangerous metals accumulate too, such as cadmium, lead or mercury, but this is just my theory.
Researchers at the University of Buffalo found that people with MS have about 2 and a half times higher incidence of stenosis- narrowing of their extracranial veins. I realize we need more studies, but this one gives many people hope. And hope is my middle name.
Zamboni’s liberation procedure takes the kink out of the hose and allows proper blood (and iron) to flow out of the brain, which explains why symptoms might improve within hours. The ‘before and after’ footage of people who underwent the treatment are jaw-dropping! Here’s the television program which you can view on your computer:
{youtube}HOkjj59qsd8|400|350|1{/youtube} Treated patients experienced better coordination and balance, more energy, fewer muscle spasms and a better quality of life.
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