Today's shocking revelation is that the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) was laundering money for kickbacks to neurologists by Merck Serono and that Executive Director June Halper was the head of this program.

Frank Timmons, Serono employee stated to Amato,

"We have a whole money-laundering thing going on with June Halper."

Here is the case Amato vs. Serono with details of the $500,000 total checks given to CMSC by Serono and funneled through to neurologists...

http://freepdfhosting.com/543bcc781b.pdf

I believe it is imperative we ask what money the CMSC is taking in, and what they are doing with this funding.  

This is the mission statement of the CMSC--

Our Mission: to be the preeminent professional organization for multiple sclerosis (MS) healthcare providers and researchers in North America, and a valued partner in the global MS community. Our core purpose is to maximize the ability of MS healthcare professionals to impact care of people who are affected by MS, thus improving their quality of life.

Are there are conflicts of interest between CMSC and CCSVI research, due to the coercion of pharmaceutical companies?  

Here are some of the officers of CMSC:

Mark Freedman, MD--Director of Membership

Robert Lisak, MD--Director of Research

Timothy Vollmer, PhD.  Director of CMSC NARCOMS

Micheal Yeung, MD-Co-Chair Education

http://www.mscare.org/cmsc/News/Committees-Special-Interest-Groups-and-Projects.html

These very same doctors were the first to criticize CCSVI research, claiming it was a hoax.  

Lisak and Freedman were very negative in their review  in the Annals of Neurology  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20373339

Yeung was on the CIHR panel to reject CCSVI studies 

Vollmer is the current head of the Rocky Mountain MS Center and wrote his thoughts on CCSVI here:

http://livingwell.mscenter.org/news/339-ectrims-2010-and-ccsvi-.html

One of the CMSC's largest programs is NARCOMS---

NARCOMS is a global registry for Multiple Sclerosis research, treatment, and patient education. The Registry is an active database of over 35,000 persons with Multiple Sclerosis.  And the Director of the Statistical and Coordinating Center project is  Dr. Gary Cutter at the University of Alabama.

http://narcoms.org/contact

NARCOMS is a project of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers and is supported by grants and in-kind services from United Spinal Association, Paralyzed Veterans Association (PVA), and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.  Additional support has been provided by unrestricted grants from the following pharmaceutical companies: Berlex, Biogen, Serono, and Teva Neuroscience.

I keep seeing the same names and pharmaceutical connections.  After today's revelation of improper funneling of pharma money through the CMSC, I believe the entire community of people with MS and their families need to get to the truth about this organization.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/ccsvi-in-multiple-sclerosis/the-consortium-of-multiple-sclerosis-centers-and-ccsvi-research/10150176235762211