Surfing CCSVI and came across the following link ...
http://charityintelligence.ca/pdfs/Ci_C ... laimer.pdf
Skeptically curious.. I sent off an e-mail asking two questions.. 1) How might their efforts support CCSVI? and 2) at what cost?
I am pleased to report that I received a very supportive and promising reply including ..C.I. is a volunteer group of 20 Canadians, mostly from the investment world, wanting to "give back" by assisting potential corporate and individual donors in making informed donation decisions. Included was a copy of a recent C.I. submission to The Globe and Mail that I have permission to share...
Submitted to the Globe and Mail – February 11, 2010
Donors have the power to get MS research underway.
The Globe and Mail reported Buffalo’s preliminary but promising results on MS research adding further evidence to the existence of blocked veins in people with MS. The discovery of Dr. Zamboni continues to gain merit. Two years ago his published report based on his findings sparked a new avenue of research into MS, which only continues to gain momentum.
Dr. Zamboni’s findings, known as Chronic CerebroSpinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI), show that MS may be triggered by a ‘plumbing problem’ rather than the auto-immune theory pursued for the last 60 years. When veins in the neck are blocked or constricted, blood is pushed back up into the brain, perhaps causing the inflammation and brain lesions seen in people with MS.
This contrarian idea is naturally raising eyebrows. Could this devastating disease that affects and estimated 1.5 million people worldwide be related to such a common sense idea? And if so, the treatment of angioplasty could offer the first possibility of remission for some symptoms of MS.
The medical establishment is legendary in its resistance to new ideas. The trials of Dr.s Marshall and Warren from Australia have become well known. Dr. Marshall, an unknown pathologist, and Dr. Warren, then a medical intern, made the medical breakthrough that stomach ulcers were not caused by stress or spicy food, but rather by bacteria. After four years of unsuccessfully battling the establishment, Dr. Marshall drank a toxic potion, giving himself stomach ulcers and then took his cure to prove antibiotics were effective. Ten years after the discovery, antibiotics became the recognized treatment ending suffering for millions of people. Subsequently, researchers re-examined bacteria’s role in medicine, finding new roles played in heart disease and cancer.
Skeptics tell Canadians with MS to wait and be patient for more work to be done. Yet MS is a progressive disease leading to permanent brain damage and disability. It is the most common neurological disability affecting young adults. Most people with MS are diagnosed between age 20 and 40. Within 10 years of diagnosis, 70% can no longer work. Disability payments and health care costs for MS add up to $1.1 billion each year in Canada. Time is a luxury people with MS don’t have.
Is it any wonder thousands are requesting ultrasounds of their necks, volunteering to be guinea pigs to be a part of the advancement of knowledge that so directly impacts them?
This is a most exciting time for MS research. This could be one of those rare leaps forward in science. After decades of minor incremental steps in treatment, this is a glimmer of hope for some with MS.
CCSVI is a legitimate scientific theory that merits funding for further investigation and evidence. Yes, this is just the beginning. Yes, more work needs to be done. Yet nothing is happening in Canada for want of $1.5 million in funding.
Two preliminary and rigorous studies into CCSVI will cost $1.5 million. UBC in collaboration with the University of Saskatchewan is seeking $1 million, with less than$10,000 received to date. The St. Joseph Healthcare and McMaster initiative in Hamilton requires $500,000. With this funding it could be up and running within two weeks with results by year end. The MS Society of Canada may award each of these initiatives $100,000 in June 2010.
The power to get CCSVI research underway is in the hands of Canadian donors. Canadians care about MS. Last year Canadians gave $62 million to charities working in the MS sector. Donors can bypass the skeptics by donating directly to Canada’s research institutes waiting to get started.
Donations should be made to St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton and UBC Faculty of Medicine, specifically restricting donations for CCSVI research. This direct route is fastest and most cost-efficient.
Has there ever been a time when $1.5 million in donations can achieve such high impact – a legacy perhaps similar to underwriting Banting and Best, advancing medical knowledge, and potentially bringing us closer to ending MS?.
Respectfully submitted
Kate Bahen, CFA
Managing Director
Charity Intelligence Canada
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