The federal government's announcement that it will fund clinical trials for multiple sclerosis patients might be good news for some, but for others it is a little too late.

Some MS sufferers say Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq's announcement that Ottawa will launch early stage clinical trials for a controversial treatment is too late. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Wednesday that Ottawa will launch early stage clinical trials into using angioplasty to unblock veins in those with MS.

Members of the MS community have been lobbying the federal government to proceed with clinical trials. But for people like Robert Fillion, who suffers from the disease, the announcement comes too late for them.

"Before they are done with the trials, and by the time they select people to get operated, it will be down the road what, three years, four years, and I would have gone downhill more and more degenerating," the Gatineau resident said. "Everybody that has multiple sclerosis is in a rush to get operated now."

Fillion is already scheduled to have the procedure performed in August and will have to raise about $15,000 and travel to Albany, N.Y., to have the procedure done.

Fillion's partner Vicky Dupuis, 41, travelled to Bulgaria last year where she also underwent the controversial MS treatment.

Dupuis says her quality of life has since improved, even though she still has her ups and downs.

Wednesday's announcement followed the decision of a multiple sclerosis scientific working group — appointed by the federal government — whose members agreed unanimously that a preliminary clinical trial into the vein procedure should go ahead.

The federal government and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), which sponsored the scientific review, did not give any details about how the trials will be conducted, the cost, how patients will be chosen, or what data went into the decision.

It is hoped that the early trials on small groups will start early in 2012 and it will be at least a year before any results are known.

The panel has been monitoring and reviewing evidence on Paolo Zamboni's theory that there is an association between MS and vein blockages, a condition known as chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI ). The Italian doctor spearheaded a movement to use angioplasty to open veins of MS patients.

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