CTV News.ca Staff
Date: Friday Aug. 12, 2011 8:44 PM ET
A small study of 15 patients with multiple sclerosis suggests those who get balloon angioplasty treatment earlier have fewer disease relapses, and may have decreased brain volume that could indicate a lessening of inflammation in their brains.
The study, conducted jointly at the University of Buffalo and the University of Ferrara, was based on a sample of MS patients from Italy and the U.S.
The results were published Friday in the European journal of Vascular Endovascular surgery.
Patients receiving the experimental treatment registered smaller brain volumes, which led researchers to conclude that they may have experienced less inflammation of the brain.
All 15 patients had the relapsing-remitting form of MS, and all were found to have abnormal blood drainage from their brains -- a condition known as Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI).
They were divided into two groups. Eight patients were given immediate balloon angioplasty to open blocked veins. Seven others did not receive the treatment for six months. All remained on their medications.
After one year, researchers found that the patients who were treated first had fewer lapses. Two of the eight patients in the immediate-treatment group had relapses over the one-year study. In the delayed-treatment group, five of the seven patients had relapses.
One of the researchers, Dr. Robert Zivadinov a neurologist at the University of Buffalo, told CTV News in a phone interview that "the results should be viewed with caution" because it was a small study with no placebo group.
"While we can't recommend this type of therapy based on this small study, surely it is encouraging to look more carefully in bigger and larger studies, whether this kind of treatment can be beneficial," Zivadinov said.
MRI scans also showed that patients had fewer brain lesions over the first six months, with a 10 per cent drop in the early treatment group compared to a 23 per cent increase in those treated later.
The other change was a decrease in brain volume in the early treatment group, which may be due to decreased inflammation, or a normalization of blood flow in the brain, Dr. Zivadinov said.
There were no complications from the procedure. However, researchers did find that 27 per cent of the patients saw their veins re-narrow during the one-year study.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20110812/early-liberation-therapy-ms-patients-110812/