CCSVI News: Despite a few well-publicized studies and many hopeful patients waiting for treatment, there is no good evidence that multiple sclerosis, or MS, is caused by a blood vessel condition

That means patients with MS shouldn't have surgery to open veins that connect the brain and spinal cord to the heart, researchers say.

"It's so appealing, the idea of a quick fix, of a surgical amelioration," Dr. Bridget Bagert, whose findings are published in the Archives of Neurology, told Reuters Health.

But, she added, "It's really not the right thing to do if the problem isn't established as being real."

MS occurs when the protective coating around nerve fibers begins to break down, slowing the brain's communication to the rest of the body. It's typically thought of as a disorder of the immune system and has no cure.

In 2009, however, Italian researchers led by Dr. Paolo Zamboni linked MS to a blood vessel condition called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI. The theory is that veins bringing blood from the brain and spine back to the heart become too narrow, causing some of that blood to leak back into the brain tissue.

Zamboni and his colleagues figured that might trigger inflammation, eventually leading to the balance and muscle problems seen in MS. Indeed, the Italian team's initial studies suggested that CCSVI is very common in MS patients and scarce in people without the disease.

But three independent studies published since then haven't found a clear link, according to the new report.

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