Nov
26
The “liberation procedure,” a controversial new surgical procedure that appears to cure multiple sclerosis, is based on circumstantial evidence and MS sufferers should not rush into getting it.
That was the message delivered by Dr. Mark Freedman, director of the MS research unit at The Ottawa Hospital, during an education session hosted by the MS Society of Ottawa on Tuesday night. For many in the audience, his words dashed much of their newfound hope.
One of a series of education events regularly presented by the society, this meeting attracted throngs of MS patients and their loved ones, all curious about the new theory proposed by Italian researcher Dr. Paolo Zamboni. A vascular surgeon by training, Zamboni believes MS is not an autoimmune condition, as widely believed, but rather a vascular disease that can be cured with surgery.
Zamboni’s theory is that MS is caused by clogged veins, a condition he calls “chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency” (CCSVI). Zamboni first performed the angioplasty-type surgery on his wife, who suffered from MS, and her symptoms disappeared. He then tested it on a group of 65 patients with remarkable results: 73 per cent had no symptoms two years after the surgery.
However, Freedman, like many neurologists, is skeptical. During his presentation, Freedman said he confronted Zamboni at a recent meeting in Lisbon.
“He was there presenting some of his data and had a hard time answering any of the questions from the MS guys,” Freedman said. Among their concerns was Zamboni’s claim that the clogged veins are present at birth, yet no studies had been done on children. Zamboni had not done animal studies, either.
“I said, ‘Why don’t you tie off a few of the blood vessels in animals and see if they develop MS?’ His answer was, ‘I’m not a mouse researcher’,” Freedman said.
read the rest via MS expert downplays Italian surgeon’s treatment.
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