Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall caused quite a furor last summer when he pledged to fund clinical trials for a controversial treatment for people suffering from multiple sclerosis. He was criticized for being naive and reckless; neither the federal government nor any of the provinces followed his lead. They said more study was needed before committing to clinical trials.

But Wall stood his ground and Saskatchewan has now taken the first steps toward conducting clinical trials of “liberation therapy.” And just last week, Alberta announced a three-year study to determine how dozens of Alberta MS patients who have travelled to other countries to undergo the treatment, or are planning to, fare after they return home. The government of Newfoundland and Labrador is conducting a similar study.

Liberation therapy opens the veins in the neck and spinal cord by inserting stents. The procedure can relieve some of the debilitating symptoms of the disease but it’s not an approved treatment in Canada so it’s not available here.

The incidence of MS is high in Saskatchewan and Alberta, a factor which no doubt spurred both provincial governments to be seen to be doing something about it. Saskatchewan now has a higher rate of MS than any other province — about 3,500 residents have the disease. A 2004 study by a team of Alberta-based academic researchers found that Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world and that in the three Prairie provinces the combined rate of 340 cases per 100,000 residents is significantly higher than in other parts of the country.

In October, Wall turned over $5 million to the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation to organize and oversee the clinical trials. SHRF quickly appointed an advisory panel of eight experts which includes Sheryl Clarke, coordinator of the MS Clinic at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto; and Dr. Kieren Murphy, director of medical imaging research at the University of Toronto.

Last week SHRF issued a call for proposals. Researchers are invited to submit their plans for clinical trials to determine if “the liberation procedure is a safe and effective treatment for MS patients to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.”

Researchers from across Canada are invited to participate, although SHRF stipulates that researchers from Saskatchewan must be part of any team. Patients who participate in the trials, which are expected to get underway by May or June of next year, must all be from Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan’s approach is much bolder than Alberta’s. Alberta dedicated $1 million to a three-year observational study that will begin in spring 2011 to determine the safety and patient-reported impact of liberation treatment procedures. That information will be used to determine whether to move forward with future clinical trials.

This is a bit of a turnaround for Alberta Health Services, which earlier this year warned against travelling abroad for the treatment because it was too risky.

Why did AHS change its tune? Dr. Tom Feasby, dean of the University of Calgary’s medical school, admitted during a radio interview that researchers, medical practitioners and politicians could no longer ignore the vocal and persistent MS sufferers who insisted that they were being denied a legitimate treatment.

That also appears to be how most Canadians see it. An online poll of 2,011 adults conducted by Angus Reid only a few days before Alberta announced its study found that 75 per cent of respondents want government-funded clinical trials of liberation therapy. It also found that the majority of respondents believed MS patients’ claims about the treatment rather than medical professionals.

Whatever the outcome of the clinical trials, Brad Wall seems to have made the right move at the right time.

Gillian Steward is a Calgary writer and journalist. Her column appears every other week. gsteward@telus.net

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/910042--steward-premier-wall-vindicated-on-ms-trials