Buffalo researchers early next year expect to report the initial results of the first major study of a controversial new theory that multiple sclerosis is caused by blockages in the veins that drain the brain.
If proven correct, the novel theory could overturn the current understanding of how to diagnose and treat a disabling and incurable disease that attacks the nervous system.
Advocates of the new theory contend that angioplasty, the same procedure used to open clogged arteries around the heart, could repair the blockages.
If so, it could change the lives of the 2.5 million people worldwide — 500,000 in the United States — with MS, many of whom are desperate for better therapies and intensely monitoring the work here.
In the few months since news reports announced the study, the Buffalo research team has fielded thousands of telephone calls from patients and has become the focus of MS-related Web sites, chat rooms and blogs on the Internet.
The frenzied reaction, including claims that there already is a cure and the pharmaceutical industry is trying to suppress it, contributed to multiple sclerosis organizations around the world recently urging caution while awaiting the results of more studies.
“The idea looks encouraging, but even if it turns out to be right, people need to remember that miracles don’t happen overnight. We have to prove it first,” said Dr. Robert Zivadinov, the principal investigator.
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