MS Society's response to the ISNVD studies

This was my question to the MSSC

A new question has been asked on the ccsvi.ca site. Please review the question below.

Note: This information is not stored; this email is the only copy.

Name:

Carol Prest

Question:

As a result of the ISNVD conference, there is now an international consensus for testing CCSVI. I assume the MSSC will recognize this document from over 40 well respected experts. This conference also presented many papers and discussions that will be published in the coming months that clearly represents that CCSVI does have an association to MS and justifies further studies and proper recognition.

Based on this current information that is now available to the MSSC please confirm your position on immediate advocacy of CCSVI testing and treatment in Canada.

I have provided the link to the all papers presented at the ISNVD conference

http://ccsvism.xoom.it/Convegno_ISNVD.html

Here is the MSSC's response that is now posted on their CCSVI.ca page

What is the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada's position on the International Society for Neurovascular Disease conference in Bologna? Why do we need to wait for the research underway via the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (USA) and MS Society of Canada before moving on to clinical trials?

The International Society for Neurovascular Disease (ISNVD) met in Bologna, Italy in March, 2011. This was the first conference of its kind, and was attended by vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, basic scientists, physicists, neurologist, neurosurgeons, technologists and others. The MS Society of Canada had a representative in attendance.

The newly formed ISNVD reported consensus on the 'minimum starting points in the approach to the investigated diseases" (www.isnvdannualmeeting.org). This consensus document, signed in Bologna, will be sent to the main journals in the following disciplines: vascular diagnostics, radiology, neuroradiology, interventional radiology, vascular surgery, angiology, neurology, vascular diagnostics. The MS Society of Canada looks forward to the publication of this and other research findings from the conference.

The investigation into CCSVI can be understood as an emerging field with evolving technologies and a necessarily multidisciplinary context. It's important to note that the ISNVD represents an important part of, but does not reflect the full spectrum of specialists necessary in untangling questions about CCSVI and MS. In order for consensus to be reached in this new and emerging field, other specialists, including neurologists and neuropathologists, must also play their part in what is the usual cours of scientific scrutiny. The seven studies currently underway, which involve experts such as neuroradiologists, interventional radiologists, statisticians, biomedical engineers, physicists, neuroethicists, and cardiovascular MRI specialists still have a part to play in this regard.

All of the seven studies, to varying degrees, reference Dr. Zamboni's original imaging protocols. Many also received training from Dr. Zivadinov, who trained with Dr. Zamboni. Their results, together with continuing study results from members of the ISNVD are required for clarity on imagining protocol and the correlation of CCSVI to MS. The paper produced in Bologna on consensus will no doubt be of interest to these researchers as they engage in their own work.

The studies will provide insight into other related questions as well. For instance, Dr. Banwell, a noted expert in pediatric MS, has assembled a team to study CCSVI in pediatric MS patients - a population where the disease process is at a very early stage, and where advanced age and other health conditions that might affect blood flow do not exist. They are determining whether CCSVI occurs in children with MS using non-invasive MRI measures of vein anatomy and novel measures of venous flow and are comparing the results to children without MS. The team also is using "hemodynamic" (blood flow) tests to investigate a hypothesis that might explain how blood flow problems could lead to myelin damage, through the accumulation of excess iron. Determining whether the veins and vein flow are abnormal very early in the MS process in pediatric MS will add additional depth to studies of CCSVI in adult MS.

The seven studies will be investigating other key questions such as:

• Does excess iron deposition in the brain correlate with the presence of venous obstruction?


• What is the rate at which blood flows in the veins


• Are vein abnormalities from atrophy (brain tissue volume loss) or specifically MS? One team will be comparing the MS group to people with atrophy from Alzheimer's disease.


• What can be learned about CCSVI by comparing scans of those with MS to their family members, including identical twins of MS patients who have not developed MS?


• Can Dr. Zamboni's results be replicated? Can these findings be validated by other imaging techniques?

The MS Society looks forward to further both to the published results from the ISNVD Conference as well as other research forums, such as the American Academy of Neurology, taking place in April, 2011. This conference will feature a number of imaging presentations related to topics such as venous drainage in MS, a duplex sonography study, MRV findings in CCSVI and MS, and ultrasound evaluations of CCSVI.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/carol-prest/the-ms-societys-official-response-to-the-isnvd-studies-unbelievable/10150460677795226