Leon Benoit, MP for the Vegreville-Wainwright constituency, which includes rural Strathcona County, had a private members motion passed last month, leading to a process that could result in better patient care for those with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Benoit’s motion is meant to ensure that patients suffering with MS — a disease that can affect patients’ vision, hearing, memory, balance, mobility and more — as well as their families and caregivers have more access to information necessary in order to make more informed decisions on the management of their condition.
This would be done through Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) treatment.
“Clinical trials are being conducted here in Canada, and the other parts of the medical and government processes are continuing,” Benoit said, adding that his motion would provide MS sufferers the opportunity to gain anecdotal information from patients who have already had the procedure done.
“While meeting with constituents and groups throughout the riding, I was able to see first-hand the life changing effects this CCSVI treatment has had on some MS patients,” he said.
“MS can be so debilitating. When I questioned why a few individuals were not showing up for the group meetings, I was informed that these people are now working.”
The disease itself is a restriction of blood-flow drainage from the brain and spinal cord.
The CCSVI liberation therapy treatment is a surgery to improve blood flow in certain veins that carry blood from the brain and upper spinal column, Benoit said.
His private members motion passed by a vote of 154 to 119, with Benoit noting Health Canada has a scientific process, adding he believes the decision should be science-based, although it is also important for government to consider the potential benefits of CCSVI treatment.
“They have indicated right from the start that if they get information from even outside the country that indicates that they can speed this process up, they will,” Benoit said “For example, I don’t think there’s any doubt that this liberation therapy works for some people with MS and it doesn’t work with others, but there’s also no evidence that the risk is anything beyond the risk for any other similar types of procedures.
“The question is why should people with MS have to go outside of Canada to have this procedure done? The answer is kind of when this process that Health Canada put in place can actually be completed. I’ll just keep pushing that along.”
Benoit is encouraging all those with MS to participate in the studies on liberation therapy, such as the British Columbia CCSVI registry and the Alberta Multiple Sclerosis Initiative.
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