BARRIE - I believe it is time to set the record straight as to the controversy of the MS / CCSVI controversy.
Yes there is controversy.
One in 30,000-plus procedures in 60 countries see two-thirds of the patients improve. M.S. is a progressive, debilitating disease. After this procedure two-thirds of the patients improve not progress.
After decades of research and millions of dollars spent on this our experts have a scientifically unproven theory that M.S. is autoimmune. To this ends they have prescribed pharmaceuticals on this unproven theory that work at somewhat less than the placebo rate. These pharmaceuticals have serious side effects and have also caused many, many deaths.
Our government has taken the advice of these same professionals and acted on it. The real experts, vascular specialists have been all but ignored.
M.S. patients are refused a simple slightly invasive procedure in this country when those without M.S. are allowed this procedure every day in every hospital in Canada.
I hope this clears up the confusion as to what the controversy is. Personally if I was the employer of people who had spent millions of dollars and decades just to come up with an unproven theory and to top that, had another group of employees find a realistic solution that was ignored by the first ones because they were” in charge” Those “in charge’ employees would be in charge of their own unemployment.
 
Steve Garvie
Barrie

http://www.simcoe.com/opinion/letters/article/1334853--on-the-ms-ccsvi-controversy