Winnipeg MS patient weighs in on setback for vein therapy
One Winnipeg man is hoping a controversial new Multiple Sclerosis treatment will be made available in Canada, despite a new study that casts doubt on its effectiveness.
A controversial vein-opening treatment for MS was developed in Italy four years ago by doctor Paolo Zamboni, who said he found that nearly all MS patients had a specific type of blocked or narrowed neck veins.
When Winnipegger Duncan Thornton heard the news, he booked a trip to Poland for the procedure with his brother. Each paid about $10,000 to have the procedure done, and both say they have seen major improvements in their MS symptoms.
“I’m still doing great. You know, the effects were immediate, and they’ve gone on,” said Thornton. “My veins have remained open.”
He said prior to the procedure he had debilitating fatigue.
“If I just stood upright for more than five minutes, my feet would turn purple and cold,” he said. “On the operating table, that changed. By the time I was back in my hospital room and sitting up, my feet were warm and pink.”
Thornton is among more than 3,000 Canadians who have travelled to get the procedure.
In August, a Canadian study called that research into question, after they found blocked neck veins in only a portion of patients with MS. Similar studies in the U.S. have also reported different findings than Zamboni.
This week, another comprehensive study out of British Columbia found narrowed neck veins was not likely a cause of MS.
Dr. Anthony Traboulsee is the medical director of the University of British Columbia’s MS clinic and lead that study.
Despite finding the veins are not likely the cause of the disease, he's continuing on a $5 million federally-funded clinical trial to see whether or not Zamboni's treatment is effective.
“Narrowing of veins, which are very common in the general population, can’t be the cause of Multiple Sclerosis,” said Traboulsee. “There’s still the unanswered question of why have some people felt better after the procedure?”
Traboulsee is working on exactly that. His team is studying the effects of the treatment on a randomized, control trial of 100 people in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Montreal and Quebec City.
He said he hopes answering the question of whether or not the procedure has positive effects will help save people from visiting other countries to have risky procedures done.
Traboulsee’s results aren’t expected until fall 2015.
Duncan Thornton is one of 60,000 Canadians living with MS who are waiting to hear the results.
