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Breaking News tonight. Italian Dr. thinks he figured out what causes MS



Hi Everyone,

I just watched our news cast at 11pm CTV Canadian news channel. It showed how this italian dr, Dr. Zambonii is pretty certain that he has figured out what causes MS. He's is looking for 1100 MS patients to participate in his study. This doctor works in Italy but a US hospital has joined him in his research. Let's see what comes of this. I haven't read everything yet.


http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/researchers-labour-of-love-leads-to-breakthrough-in-treating-ms/article1372414/?service=mobile

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20091120/MS_W5_091120/20091120/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

http://csvi-ms.net/en/content/introduction-venous-multiple-sclerosis

Have a good weekend forumer's

Shelley
un-dx



19 Responses
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195469 tn?1388322888
I have just signed up for a study in Buffalo, NY for CCSVI.  This is only a diagnostic study and will have nothing to do with any placement of stents or balloon angioplasty to "repair" anything found.  I believe though, that this will be one of the center's that will be performing the "corrective surgery," after the studies are completed.

There is no compensation for participating in this study, but it will not cost me anything to go through their testing.  Only cost to me is going from the state of Virginia to New York.  Not too far for me.

Keep your fingers crossed that I get accepted into the trials.

Heather
Helpful - 0
620048 tn?1358018235
From what I have heard, and this only based on one person, is that is a tough, painful and long recovery.

meg
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Most of the inventions and discoveries come from the least expected quarters. I pray and hope that this one is for real. And God bless everyone who were part of this ...
Helpful - 0
721523 tn?1331581802
I guess that this is my question:  If it is minimally invasive surgery, and can even reduce the number of relapses or severity of symptoms, how could it hurt to add this to a standard DMD?
Helpful - 0
319532 tn?1250988576
Months ago i read about a blood pressure medication that reversed an MS like condition in mice (this link:http://www.nationalmssociety.org/research/research-news/news-detail/index.aspx?nid=1941) I was intrigued but never understood why that could help with an auto-immune. Now this CCSVI comes to light and it all makes sense. This blood pressure med apparently blocks the action of the protein angiotensin which constricts blood vessels. So if the mouse's veins are constricted, this may be why the MS like condition was reversed as this medication dilated them. This is all quite exciting and am at least going to insist my neurologist considers it.
Helpful - 0
333672 tn?1273792789
You can find some info on CCSVI in Facebook just by googling those two words

Here perhaps is a clearer explanation of the thinking on what causes CCSVI from the W5 TV FAQ (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091120/W5_QandA_091121/20091121?hub=Health)

"Doctors are not sure but they believe that veins that are susceptible to blocking and twisting develop in the womb as a congenital birth defect or early in childhood. There could be environmental factors as well.

"There is also a theory that low levels of vitamin D might play a role.  It's been well-documented that higher rates of MS are seen in countries with lower exposure to vitamin D through sunlight and diet. Since vitamin D is critical to the normal development of the immune system and also in the development of blood vessels and endothelial tissue -- the thin layer of cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels. The theory is that low levels of vitamin D in utero or early in childhood may impair the body's ability to form healthy vessels and lead to the narrowing and blockages seen in CCSVI. But this is not yet proven; more research is needed."

sho
Helpful - 0
620048 tn?1358018235
Yes, Lulu, I would like it..

I heard from an old friend of my husbands and he has a good friend with MS, he told me that he had surgery on the veins in his neck and that he was already seen improvement.

He said o look up a Dr Carlo Zamboni to read about him and his new theory but I could not find a thing, I think he had the first name wrong.

I have emaled him for more info.   This is very interesting to say the least.

hugs, meg
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
There is a very active discussion going on about this on face book - if I post the address here I know it won't go through, so PM me if you want it.

One of the links they posted was this youtube - mri images and pics of the procedure - you might find this of interest too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4lvSPzTki4

intrigued,
Lulu
Helpful - 0
333672 tn?1273792789
Also, from http://www.thisisms.com/ftopicp-67000.html

"The origin of Dr. Zamboni’s work in Multiple Sclerosis began when he was a vascular surgeon in Sardinia, Italy. Sardinia is noted for its high level of epidemiology in MS in the general population. During 1987-1992, he noted a high prevalence in children with malformations of the jugular veins. His paper on this topic, “So-Called Primary Venous Aneurysms” was published in 1990. He noted AV fistula and a closed ring stenosis that could not be crossed by their blood in these children, external compression and this vascular anomaly appeared to be congenital. 20 years later, 90% of these children he studied have been diagnosed with MS."
Helpful - 0
333672 tn?1273792789
I have not watched it yet, but the Canadian documentary is now online at

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091120/W5_liberation_091121/20091121?s_name=W5

As far as I can tell, all they have so far is correlation and not causation, albeit strong correlation. This leaves four possibilities

1. MS and CCSVI could be independent processes

2. MS could cause CCSVI

3. CCSVI could cause MS

4. Both MS and CCSVI could be caused by some third process

As far as what causes the CCSVI, that is not known, but the most common hypothesis seems to be that it is congenital. In the notes that one of the members of This is MS took at a conference on CCSVI (http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-8105.html), Dr. Byung B. Lee of Georgetown University School of Medicine, speculates that it is a congenital abnormality. Apparently, the stenosis looks like mechanical narrowing rather than something that developed over time.

It does make me wonder why the incidence of MS seems to be rising then. Is it that the stenosis is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for MS and some environmental trigger is also needed (which doesn't seem to jibe with the fact that they are not finding this severe of stenosis in normal people)? Or is it that some environmental factor is causing more people to develop this venous malformation in the womb?

In the same notes thread, Dr. Guilio Gabbiani of the Centre Medical Universitaire in Geneva describes some research that found differences in the collagen in normal-appearing veins in people with MS compared to controls and Dr. Robert Zivadinov of the Jacobs Neurological Institute stated that they found 40% less veins in the brains of people with MS compared to controls so there may be other things going on.

There is an interesting discussion of how Vitamin D might mitigate the accumulation of iron in the brain about halfway down this thread http://www.thisisms.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=75379

sho
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yes I have to agree that this seems very intriguing. I didn't realize that this was out there already years ago. I just can't believe what I'm reading, it just sounds to simple to treat and possibly cure early MS....???

Let's wait and see together..

Thanks for the comments....
Helpful - 0
147426 tn?1317265632
Doc, I have just the opposite problem.  I have Von Willebrand's Disease and do not have the problem of sticky platelets.  I actually have insufficient clotting ability.  I wonder how that might intertwine with this.

JonGalt - Did you mean to say you had "no" blockages or "two" blockages?

What a simple solution it might be to this disease!  I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

Q
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
to me this is actually extremely intriguing - I've never heard of this theory before but I did a literature search and it's a legitimate, evidence-based notion!  (I assumed it was quackery at first).  I am especially interested because I have a known blood-clotting disorder (and I am predisposed to "sludging" in the microvasculature) - maybe there is something to research about venous congestion and "triggering" the body's immune system (be it from "sticky" blood or actual physical venous obstruction), altering the "blood brain barrier," etc.

It's so frustrating that we still have no idea the real cause of this devastating disease - how can we target therapies if we don't understand the pathology? =(
Helpful - 0
147426 tn?1317265632
What causes the venous narrowing and insufficiency?
Helpful - 0
751951 tn?1406632863
Very interesting indeed.  Among other things, my PCP sent me for ultrasounds of my carotid arteries when my symptoms began.  Maybe we looked at the blood flow to the brain and should have looked at the flow outward.
Helpful - 0
333672 tn?1273792789
There is a Canadian TV documentary that will be on TV tonight and on the Web shortly according to this announcement:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Statement from the Executive Producer of W5:

We at W5 are excited by the worldwide interest being expressed in Avis Favaro's report about the new therapy being used by Dr. Paolo Zamboni and now being studied in North America.

To confirm, our documentary "The Liberation Treatment" will be broadcast on the CTV television network (seen in Canada at 7 pm local time) Saturday, November 21. W5 is also available via the Internet at www.W5.ctv.ca - online information about our documentary will be available approximately 6 pm Eastern Time. Avis' report will be available for viewing, without subscription, after 7 pm Eastern Time. Unlike entertainment programs there are no restrictions on viewing W5 stories from anywhere in the world - assuming you've got the bandwidth to stream the video.

If you get to the site - just click through the main-page story and you'll be taken to the viewing page. Note that each part of the story - this one is in two parts - play separately after a brief ad, so be sure to look for the second part after viewing the first part. You need to select it as it does not play automatically. Our documentaries typically remain available on the site for many months.

As a matter of background for those unfamiliar with W5 - we are the longest-running newsmagazine/documentary program in North America, now in our 44th season. We are also the most-watched and most-respected program of its type in Canada.

Anton Koschany
Executive Producer
W5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The news release for the Buffalo study is at:

http://www.buffalo.edu/research/article.html?id=105620009

There is another MRI study related to this run by E. Mark Haacke and looking at CCSVI/stenosis and iron deposits in the brain at:

http://ms-mri.com/

Lots more info at:

http://www.thisisms.com/forum-40.html

Other MedHelp threads you might find interesting:

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Multiple-Sclerosis/New-things-I-know-about-MS/show/1012092

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Multiple-Sclerosis/Interesting-takes-on-the-etiology-of-MS/show/986162

sho
Helpful - 0
704043 tn?1298056844
I am sure  u  all have heard this before!  they can put a man- or woman lol ! on the moon !  but cant figure this crazy ms  out!  hope something comes from this trial.   tick
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357

Hi Shawnie,
they always make these announcements sound like that just happened... the CCSVI discussion has been going on for quite a while and it will be interesting to see what comes of the next trial.  I believe it is the university of Buffalo that is working with the Italians.  

We have talked about this quite a bit here and you might want to read some of those discussions.  Here is one, but is you search this community for CCSVI you will find many others.



http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Multiple-Sclerosis/Iron-deposition-in-MS-marker-of-disease-progression/show/1054362


its great to hear things that excite us - there is a cure looming out there somewhere!

Lulu
Helpful - 0
1054985 tn?1257173275
Yeah I saw that too.  Still very early, but maybe there on to something.

Funny though my doctor sent me for an ultra sound of the veins in my neck.  I guess that's why?  I though my neuro was trying to rule out some other disease.  The ultra sound technician had no idea what he was looking for but told me I had to blockages.

Helpful - 0
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