August 23, 2012

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2012/08/23/sk-ms-recovery.html

A Saskatoon man with multiple sclerosis who's taking part in an American study of the so-called liberation therapy, a procedure which clears a vein in the neck, is recovering from a surgery in Albany, N.Y., Thursday.

Andrew Dahlen underwent surgery Wednesday as part of a clinical test.

He's the first of 86 Saskatchewan patients to travel to New York state to take part in the two year study.

To make sure patients don't suffer from a placebo effect, only 60 per cent of those chosen will actually receive the vein clearing therapy.

The other 40 per cent will still have surgery, but not the procedure.

None of the patients are told if in fact they've received the therapy until the study is finished in two years.

Dahlen told CBC News he's okay either way.

"I think any little bit helps," he said. "There's a ton of people that weren't able to come to the study, so with me being down in New York I'm probably helping a lot of people."

Dr. Gray Siskin is conducting the MS trial and said he hopes when the research gathered from this study is completed, it will end the debate over the now controversial vein therapy.

"My hope is that we answer the question, that we at least convincingly say, 'Yes there is benefit to doing this procedure or no there isn't benefit to doing this procedure'."

Dahlen said he's proud to be the first one to go under the knife.

"It's pretty big, I'd say, it's hard to put into words what I've done here," he said. "I hope it's the start of something many people will come get help for and hopefully the research is awesome."

In a couple of weeks, more patients from Saskatchewan will travel to Albany for the procedure.

But Dahlen said when the study is done, if he finds out that he didn't get the therapy, he'll pay to get the treatment himself.

The government of Saskatchewan is contributing two million dollars to the study, specifically for people from the province.