The Canadian MS Society is not happy...

[Catty1]

...because those who have the determination and the means are going overseas for the "liberation" treatment that unblocks a blood vessel and results in improvement. Tremendous improvement.

Neil, someone who is an old friend of the family, has been in a wheelchair for some time. His letters to the newspaper in the city of Saskatoon are well done! Long story short, he left for Germany on the 23rd (with a companion), had the procedure on the 26th, and came home on the 28th.

"So," I said today (31st), "what's NEW?"

He said, "I got my feet back." They have been completely numb from the ankle down; he can now wiggle his toes and feel a piece of paper on the floor under his foot.

His one hand, which was bent weirdly, is relaxing and resuming normal shape. His eyesight is clearer and brighter. AND - instead of lying in bed in one position, he can now turn over in bed.

He sees his GP tomorrow and his GP is going to refer him for physio. As he says, he needs to learn to walk again, and has a lot of work ahead.

My sister died from MS - it was 4 years ago in April. Yes, I choke on the "if only" - but thank GOD others have a real chance at having a good life.

Needless to say, some provincial governments are calling for this therapy to be tested in Canada...but some established conservative people in the health field (ie MS society et al) might well be out of a job.

I am just WOW on this.

[Grace]

My daughter-in-law was diagnosed with MS 17 years ago. Thank God, she's still doing very well. She uses a cane at times, but has had a very easy go of it - unlike so many others.

Those auto-immune diseases are really weird - if one in a family has one, chances are another member will also have one. Doesn't even have to be the same disease. In her case, it's her dad - he has Crohn's Disease.

[Laura's Babies]

I have a friend on my FB page that has MS and is going to get that treatment.. I think it is the same treatment anyway. She found a doctor in California that does it and was setting up and appointment to go see him when she found one in Florida so was trying to set up an appointment with that one when she found another one in Arizona.. Whichever one can get her in first is the one she is going to see..

[Asiel]

I wish the whole story about the liberation treatment was posted when someone decides to discuss it. For one thing this is not something new that was just discovered...years ago it was studied under the name Charcot-Marie-Tooth, which is where Dr. Zamboni's data comes from. Also not mentioned was the fact that there has been at least 3 deaths so far from the stents some patients had to have put in, they became displaced and went to the heart and the patients died immediately. And no one seems to remember to mention the isotope dyes that have to be used for the procedure which many people are highly allergic to and do die from being injected with them, especially so close to the brain. Another fact nobody seems to think of mentioning is that Dr. Zamboni's wife did not have m.s which was the reason she refused to be interviewed and still does at this point.

Since Zamboni’s explosive news broke, independent scientists have tried to find some confirmation of his theory. Separate groups of medical researchers in Germany, Sweden, and Buffalo, New York, have used MRI and ultrasounds to examine the cerebral and jugular veins of patients with multiple sclerosis and those without.

The Buffalo study found that just over half the MS patients it screened had some vascular blockages, but that about one-quarter of people without MS had the same blockages. The more recent German and Swedish studies, published this month in the journal Annals of Neurology, found no relationship between blocked veins, blood flow and MS symptoms.

No matter. Over the last few months, trusting, vulnerable patients have been flocking to clinics in places like India, Poland and Bulgaria, paying up to $30,000 to undergo Zamboni’s risky and unproven “liberation” therapy. Some have come home saying they have more energy and range of movement.

Such testimonials, however inspiring, are not proof. In the first place, “liberation” therapy is used to treat a form of multiple sclerosis known as “relapsing-remitting MS.” It is a roller-coaster disease, where people can often experience remissions or lessenings of symptoms, sometimes for no apparent reason.

[pomtzu]

I wish the whole story about the liberation treatment was posted when someone decides to discuss it. For one thing this is not something new that was just discovered...years ago it was studied under the name Charcot-Marie-Tooth, which is where Dr. Zamboni's data comes from. Also not mentioned was the fact that there has been at least 3 deaths so far from the stents some patients had to have put in, they became displaced and went to the heart and the patients died immediately. And no one seems to remember to mention the isotope dyes that have to be used for the procedure which many people are highly allergic to and do die from being injected with them, especially so close to the brain. Another fact nobody seems to think of mentioning is that Dr. Zamboni's wife did not have m.s which was the reason she refused to be interviewed and still does at this point.

Since Zamboni’s explosive news broke, independent scientists have tried to find some confirmation of his theory. Separate groups of medical researchers in Germany, Sweden, and Buffalo, New York, have used MRI and ultrasounds to examine the cerebral and jugular veins of patients with multiple sclerosis and those without.

The Buffalo study found that just over half the MS patients it screened had some vascular blockages, but that about one-quarter of people without MS had the same blockages. The more recent German and Swedish studies, published this month in the journal Annals of Neurology, found no relationship between blocked veins, blood flow and MS symptoms.

No matter. Over the last few months, trusting, vulnerable patients have been flocking to clinics in places like India, Poland and Bulgaria, paying up to $30,000 to undergo Zamboni’s risky and unproven “liberation” therapy. Some have come home saying they have more energy and range of movement.

Such testimonials, however inspiring, are not proof. In the first place, “liberation” therapy is used to treat a form of multiple sclerosis known as “relapsing-remitting MS.” It is a roller-coaster disease, where people can often experience remissions or lessenings of symptoms, sometimes for no apparent reason.

Thanks for a more in-depth look into this. All too often, people jump on the bandwagon for new cures/treatments for so many dreaded diseases, without researching and reading the fine print. Yes - it might work to some degree in some cases, but it's not that magic cure-all that others expect it is. I suppose one could say "nothing ventured/nothing gained", and the experimental treatments have to start somewhere and with actual human subjects, yet these subjects should also be prepared for the idea that it might not work for them.

I do wish that this "liberation therapy" was the magic bullet, but I don't believe that any cure is visible just around the corner. I have seen and heard of the many ravages of MS from friends (), ex co-workers, and an uncle who died from it many years ago, and would be delighted if this treatment would be what all MS sufferers are looking for.

[MoonandBean]

As most of you probably know, I have been very involved in promoting good causes via the pepsi challenge. I was following this one last month as they were "close but no cigar" but this month...they are starting out in first place so if you want to support them, here is the link:

http://www.refresheverything.com/mul...clerosisdreams