VANCOUVER - A private clinic in Vancouver is being deluged by multiple sclerosis patients from across Canada and the U.S. who have heard about an Italian study that may revolutionize the way the disease is treated or possibly even cured.
The False Creek Surgical Centre has nothing to do with the Italian research, but co-owner Dr. Mark Godley said that for $2,300, it is offering patients an MRI and ultrasound that may indicate whether they’re candidates for the type of treatment described in the Italian study.
Such testing is not available in the public health sector. While the False Creek clinic does the imaging, it does not do the surgical intervention.
The recently published study shows that multiple sclerosis (MS) may actually be a vascular disease triggered by disruptions in blood circulation.
Its theory is that MS is caused by venous abnormalities at the base of the brain and that a “liberation procedure” (balloon venoplasty done on veins, like angioplasty done on arteries) could treat or even possibly cure patients.
Before such procedures, imaging tests looking for narrowing or blockages of veins (stenosis) must be done, since lead researcher Dr. Paolo Zamboni maintains such abnormalities are almost always associated with MS.
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