This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Since we are playing at home I will give you my assessment:
Your left iliac vein is dilated respect to the right. This is a classical sign of May-Thurner syndrome. Your body has compensated using the iliac-lumbar vein as a collateral bypass. This vein eventually drain into the Azygous vein causing overload and impairing its ability to drain blood from your spinal cord.
In addition it seems blood from the left Iliac vein is draining into the right Iliac vein. This would imply a blockage in the IVC, but I do not know where the tip of the catheter is.
I am including a link to Dr. Galeotti CCSVI procedure.
He is the only IR in the world with several years of experience on this procedure.
He checks the left iliac vein and he fixes any problem found on venography irrespective of patient leg conditions.
I would advice any IR doctor starting on this procedure to follow his protocol until they have enough experience.
The following link is in Italian but, at least, you can look at the pictures.
http://www.ospfe.it/attach/smcferrara/docs/galeotti%20.pdf

_________________
Everybody here brings happiness, somebody by coming,others by leaving.  PPMS since 2000<br />

where oh where is Dr.Sclafani today?

In case anyone missed this:

So who'd'ya think won, our guys or the neurologists?

I'll put my money on our guys. I don't know GiCi but Dr. Sclafani knows his stuff and is an impressive speaker. Wouldn't it have been great to be there? I wonder if it was recorded.

And what about debate(s) here in the US, Dr. Sclafani? I love it......accurate information about CCSVI coming out with every neurological spin refuted immediately.

Dear Dr. Sclafani,

If we assume that the CCSVI theory is right then how can the following have an impact on bloodflow/MS lesions forming issues:

a) Posture and position: is it better/worse to be in the supine or lying down position? Can having a bad posture have an impact?

b) Physical exercise: does physical effort impact on impaired blood flow when we have CCSVI?

c) Diet: are some nutrients worse/better for CCSVI?

d) Climate: does cold/heat affect the impact of CCSVI?

Many thanks for your attention.

Spiff

I think "GiCi" is Dr Gianfranco Campalari, who is a specialist Cardiologist.
He originated from Ferrara in Italy. the same town as Prof Zamboni. He met Dr Zamboni at a dinner party, and subsequently had the liberation treatment, which was successful. He re-stenosed, and another doctor treated him a 2nd time with angioplasty.
He appeared in SuperDocs on television, and now works in Belfast
His story is on the net, and is easy enough to find.
He states in his story that he believes that it is unethical for the neurologists to dismiss CCSVI.
As he is a specialist doctor, has had angioplasty for CCSVI twice and is "known" due to his public profile, he would be an ideal ambassador for the CCSVI cause.

Thanks for the info, Ned. Our team certainly was a strong one. I can't wait to hear about it.

And a note to Dr. Sclafani - the NY symposium...then China and Ireland...thank you Dr. S, for taking the CCSVI show on the road. I know you are disappointed in not being able to perform the liberation procedure but you are certainly not wasting your time while you're waiting. In fact, you are probably helping ALL of us even more with the work you are doing now...assembling and meeting with the top docs in CCSVI, getting the information out to the public, educating other doctors, learning from colleagues who have performed the liberation procedure and I know that's not a complete list.

Thank you and I hope you're back in the saddle again soon.
Laura

Doctor, I would love to hear your answers to Spiff's questions, and I am particularly interested in learning whether sleeping at an incline could help.

Thank you!!

Here is what he said back in the early days of this thread:

I posted that GiCi is Dr Gianfranco Campalari -

He is, in fact Dr Gianfranco Campalani - (with an N, not an R)

Apologies!!

Thanks again Cece for finding the quote from Dr. S; "These facts astound me. I have asked a few dozen physicians, including sleep experts, vascular surgeons, cardiologists, neuroradiologists and interventional radiologists to tell me how blood drains from the brain and NO ONE got it right...making this physiology a most common hidden secret."
I think that until the blood flow into and out of the brain is measurable there will be uncertainty with the CCSVI Theory.
To measure and compare actual blood volume and flow rates between PwMS and other diseases against 'normal' flows will be required before the whole blood circulation requirement and dysfunction issue can be understood.

These measurements will be the only way we can begin to understand the importance of blood movement within the brain.

Although a huge task given the many ins and outs of the system, but the only way to achieve an insight to what is and isn't happening.

A quote from a man who has studied blood flows and passages in the accessory blood system, (that is the flow from the brain that does NOT include the juggulars (33% of the time) and is the system we use when UPRIGHT, 66% of the time!)
"According to physical anthropologists, upright posture increases blood flow to the brain, and the accessory drainage system evolved to handle the subsequent increase in veinous outflow. Since humans spend roughly two-thirds of each day in the upright position, the accessory drainage system is critical to healthy brain blood flow. A constricted and clogged accessory drainage system could lead to venous congestion and chronic drainage and waste problems. It could also lead to chronic normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).
The big question is can inherited and acquired disorders and degenerative conditions of the cervical spine, especially the upper cervical spine and base of the skull, affect the drainage system of the brain enough to cause chronic NPH, CCSVI and subsequent neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Alsheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease?"
Micheal Flanagan.
Regards all, Nigel

good to be home..

The balloon is 2-4 centimeters long on the end of a thin catheter. The balloon is tapered to the shaft of the catheter. When it is inflated it can be any where from 2mm to 20 mm in diameter. Most interventionalists are using 1-14 mm balloons. The balloon is inflated for some variable time, some just inflate it until the blood vessel stretches it open. others leave it inflated for 30-120 seconds. The inflations are done one to six times.

there is no best practice in regard to balloon size, balloon diameter, or pressures or time of inflation or number of times of inflation.

I think bigger is better until it is too big, then you get tears of the vein. We do not know what diameter too big is.

the human mind has a need to collect, categorize and simplify.
yes, i think we need to define all the types of venous anatomic distorsions so we can seen which ones respond and which ones behave badly. Not sure wee can but we do have to categorize to find out.

cece
certification is already done for a variety of imaging tests. Guidelines will need to be written but that can only be evidence based.
this might be done by a society, or an organization.

I believe we will get there. but we have to have some evidence before we can

Right now, there are too many centers and practicioners who claim to be endorsed, trained or supported by dr zamboni. in many circumstances this is disingenuous.

nigel
where did you get the 70% nonresponder rate? I have not read that.

nigel
i agree with you. But we do not know how many PPMS< and SPMS is being treated.