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CCSVI is Ineffective

CCSVI is ineffective, this is according to the doctor who developed it, Dr. Zamboni's, own research. This once promising treatment for multiple sclerosis simply doesn't work. Dr Zamboni came to this conclusion after doing a double-blind study to rule out the placebo effect, and found that the procedure does not cure or as previously thought, even help with any of the symptoms of MS.

CCSVI is Ineffective, Unfortunately

Unfortunately, so many of us effected by multiple sclerosis, were counting on this simple procedure to work - at least a little bit. The seemingly miraculous experiences for some were more likely the result of wishful thinking or the all too familiar placebo effect. We wanted it to work, so it kinda did work, for a little while. The effects unfortunately didn't last, however. 

All the people who spent thousands of dollars, traveled thousands of miles, spent so many hours, to get to the clinic to have the procedure done. All in the hopes that this would be the one thing that "cured" their MS. And in the end, they are left with a treatment that doesn't really help them at all. 

Many scientists and researchers stopped other more promising studies to try and prove Dr. Zamboni's theory (you can read about the procedure here). The hours they could have been following those other studies were wasted on an unproven and ineffective treatment. Dr Zamboni has now published a paper in the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) conceding that "Venous PTA has proven to be a safe but largely ineffective technique; the treatment cannot be recommended in patients with MS."

Disappointing

I think we can speak for many MSers, that we hoped that this would be a treatment that solved the mystery of what caused multiple sclerosis and ultimately eradicated it. It's turned out to be one that we can confidently and disappointingly say that no, it is not a treatment for MS. Check that box off.

I'm a little sad that it didn't work, because I think Dr. Zamboni was sincere in his wish to heal his wife of this devastating condition. If only it were that simple. Open up your veins and all is well - and as a result you continuously improve from day to day. I guess it was one of those "too good to be true" moments.

I have to admit, we considered trying to get the procedure done for Cir, however, because of financial reasons, we weren't able to - and as it turns out, that was a good thing. The article snippet below suggests that many doctor patient relationships were fractured as a result of the "liberation treatment". 

Doctors suggested that patients wait for more research to be done, and patients were impatient to finally have something that appeared to work, accused their doctors of not wanting to help. We did talk to our doctor, and he was interested but not impressed, letting us know that he thought CCSVI is ineffective. We have a good relationship and know we couldn't get it done anyway, so we waited to see what would happen.

Cir and I would love to see a cure, and I'm sure many others feel the same. I do think, though, that we will be a little skeptical when we hear the next treatment that comes along. We'll at least wait to see what happens. It's so easy to pick up on the hope that something like this will come along. In this day of social media, it's also easy to get scammed when people will put anything out there just to make a buck. 

I don't believe Zamboni did that. I just think he shouldn't have rushed his findings to the public without doing more research to prove his theory. We want a cure, however, we also don't want to be taken advantage of either. I hope other scientists a researchers take this into account before making claims that are not fully proven.

You can follow the link to the full article above. If you don't know what CCSVI is, you can follow the links below.

What do you think? Do you still feel that CCSVI is ineffective, or do you still think it could possibly be a viable option? Maybe even some part of another treatment. I think it may eventually be the beginning of something that may help with another type of treatment, though not MS.

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