Thanks to Sandra for finding this clinical trial in Texas. " In the small subset of Ehler Danlos Syndrome and multiple sclerosis patients seen at Total Eye Care, the investigators have noticed a vascular irregularity (using the optomap® and examining the results under high magnification) which offers credence to the theory of CCSVI."


Look into my eyes -- CCSVI in other neurological disorders
  CCSVI long ago attracted the attention of researchers looking into ALS (1) and other neurological conditions and illnesses with an unknown origin and an inflammatory component. This exploration gets even wider with new research currently recruiting participants in Texas.     The fundus is a part of the eye with extremely visible vasculature. These researchers hypothesize that CCSVI will be able to be found by looking, literally, into the eyes of participants. They will look for "venous engorgement and beading, abnormal A/V ratio, blurred disc margins, papilledema, dot hemorrhages or exudates" (2).     As with all theories, Dr. Zamboni's work must be tested, refined, and refuted by new research in as diverse an arena as possible. What Dr. Driscoll and his colleagues are doing in this study is expanding Dr. Zamboni's proposed ways to find CCSVI to include an eye examination. If this study finds CCSVI, then we open up a whole new avenue of ways to be diagnosed.     Interestingly, this study is also looking to find CCSVI in a group of individuals diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Here's the study's description to explain just why they are going in this direction:     Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) has been proposed as the cause of numerous neurodegenerative diseases of the brain. CCSVI is the result of poor drainage of blood (and cerebral spinal fluid to some degree) from weakened or stenosed veins usually located in the cervical area (most notably the internal jugular veins). Although current focus and treatment of CCSVI is on multiple sclerosis, CCSVI has also been implicated as a potential cause of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's Disease. Additionally, patients with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) -- a disorder of connective tissue -- are more prone to developing multiple sclerosis than the general population. Many EDS patients are known to have weakened and abnormal blood vessels and 40 - 70% of EDS patients develop autonomic dysfunction in addition to numerous other symptoms found in patients with CCSVI. In the small subset of EDS and multiple sclerosis patients seen at Total Eye Care, the investigators have noticed a vascular irregularity (using the optomap® and examining the results under high magnification) which offers credence to the theory of CCSVI. Such objective data has been elusive, excepting for fMRI, ultrasound (to a limited degree) and venous angioplasty results. Current treatment of CCSVI involves the ballooning and sometimes stenting, of abnormally stenosed veins. The treatment of CCSVI offers hope to many patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. Although CCSVI research is in its infancy, many doctors believe that CCSVI is a significant portion of the solution to patients with neurodegenerative diseases of the brain. Because CCSVI is a vascular disorder, the investigators hypothesize that the investigators are able to screen candidates for CCSVI via the optomap®."       Note the research funder for this project is Optos, an eye examination company (3). This is important because it moves CCSVI research out of neurology and into optometry, a whole new field filled with researchers eager to make their claim to finding something new. Many, many researchers strive lifetimes to come up mostly blank studying a particular phenomenon. CCSVI offers them a chance to truly uncover something for the first time -- to make a new association, to propose a new therapy, even to begin constructing a theory themselves. My first neurologist said an MS researcher who studied MS exclusively for 40 years, when asked what he could conclude from his life's work, said, "All I can say is people with MS typically come from families where the mothers kept extraordinarily clean houses." This was, mind you, over 15 years ago, but it shows you many researchers come up nearly empty despite much effort (and millions of dollars). With companies like Optos getting interested in CCSVI, there will be funding to drive more CCSVI research in many new directions.     Each piece of research gets us closer to figuring out the CCSVI puzzle and fueling entirely new fields of scientific exploration. Imagine finding CCSVI during an eye examination...   1. http://www.medical-hypotheses.com/article/S0306-9877(10)00130-1/abstract 2. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01356134 3. http://www.optos.com/