Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashartus
The government won't (and shouldn't) fund it until there is defensible evidence it works. Right now there is just anecdotal evidence, and even that is mixed (lots of people have had the treatment without it working). The proposed mechanism is inconsistent with current understanding of MS, attempts by others to duplicate the clinical results have generally not been successful, and the way it is being marketed resembles a lot of past cancer scams, so there's a lot of skepticism on the part of the medical community. There seem to be enough anecdotal reports that it's worth investigating further in my opinion (but I'm not an MS expert). Some experts have suggested the vein blockage might be a symptom of some cases of MS, which might explain the beneficial effect (there's probably at least some placebo effect going on there too, which MS is fairly susceptible to) - but if that's the case it might only be temporary. For the sake of people with MS I hope this does lead to an effective treatment, but the health system isn't meant to fund experimental treatments.
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I flew to Costa Rica this summer with my friend so she could undergo this treatment. There are a few things I can tell you about it...
Stents are not necessary; the procedure is balloon angioplasty which is a common treatment in arteries currently. Balloon angioplasty is not without it's own hazards but the government funds it.
If a person that has not been diagnosed with MS requires this treatment, they are given it. Why the difference?
After being down there and seeing the AMAZING results, I really with the government would hurry up and allow this treatment. It isn't for ALL MS sufferers; in fact only 80% of MS sufferers scanned for CCSVI have it. However, if I were running the government, I would much prefer to pay for a one time treatment that may put off home care/assisted living for potentially years than I would paying for that home care/assisted living. I know without a shadow of a doubt that most MS sufferers would rather have the procedure and gain a little (or even nothing) than not have it and only have further degeneration to look forward to.
And my friend is secondary progressive. Results have been slow for her but she doesn't regret the $20,000 she spent on the trip AT ALL.