Dr. Alireza Minagar, a U.S. neurologist who specializes in MS and teaches at Louisiana State University, says he has always been intrigued by the CCSVI theory and the idea that the venous system has been implicated as a possible cause. He thinks despite this study’s latest findings, the concept deserves further research.
“While still in its infancy, CCSVI poses an enormously complicated idea, which requires more fundamental studies to understand its role in pathophysiology of MS,” he said in an email to CTV News.
He says it isn’t clear if any of the opened veins in the UBC study closed up again after treatment, which is called restenosis, nor whether blood flow actually improved in the treated group.

A new Canadian study has concluded that a procedure to open narrowed veins in the neck and chest is ineffective in relieving the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and works no better than a placebo treatment. But some neurologists and MS patients who say the treatment worked wonders for them say more r...