FDA Warns on Controversial MS Therapy, Claims CCSVI Is More Dangerous Than It Is.

“Liberation procedure” on CCSVI at the Vena azygos. Vena azygos before and after treatment with stent. Deutsch: Behandlung der Vena azygos bei CCSVI. Vema azygos vor und nach der Behandlung mit setzen eines Stens. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Medical News: FDA Warns on Controversial MS Therapy – in Neurology, Multiple Sclerosis from MedPage Today.

Anyone following the discussion will understand I am skeptical of CCSVI (Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency) as both a treatment and a procedure.  But we do have enough evidence to allow patients who have no other options to explore the possibility that CCSVI will help them.

The FDA stepped all over that possibility by issuing a warning against CCSVI.  It shut down a doctor who has been doing the treatments on an experimental basis because he did not file the proper paperwork.

Although the procedure is not without risk, the safety statistics from CCSVI are extremely good compared to other MS treatments and wonderful compared to rotting away with no options.  Basing a national warning on a few anecdotal reports is poor science and poorer policy.

At the same time that the FDA is warning against CCSVI, Canada has moved forward with state funding for testing.  The analysis of CCSVI by the experts in Canada is conservatively optimistic, and definitely merits further study.  In the U.S. we need to reserve judgment and allow patients without other options to explore this one with their physicians.

Related articles

• Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) And Multiple Sclerosis. Should MS Patients Try It? (alternativendhealth.wordpress.com)
• FDA warns against unapproved ‘liberation’ studies (ctv.ca)
• U.S. FDA warns of injuries, deaths linked to ‘liberation therapy’ for multiple sclerosis (vancouversun.com)
• FDA warns about multiple sclerosis vein procedure (cbc.ca)
• Zivadinov’s Update On Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) In Multiple Sclerosis (prweb.com)
• CCSVI Liberation Treatment Patients from the US & Canada migrate to Mexico (prweb.com)
• CCSVI and the Politics of Medicine (randi.org)
• Health minister tries to block bill backing controversial MS therapy (windsorstar.com)
• CCSVI Alliance Announces Doctors’ Roundtable, March 27 in San Francisco (thinkccsvi.com)
• Does CCSVI Cause Multiple Sclerosis? (thehandiestone.typepad.com)