scorpion wrote:My bad. I misread the doctor's post.
I agree with thornyrose that the push should come from scientists and physicians. So far it seems the push has come primarily from internet bloggers. I still would like to know why anyone who does not jump on the CCSVI bandwagon has a hidden agenda(usually financial) while those scientists(who now receive funding for CCSVI research), CCSVI researchers(also now receive CCSVI research funding), and doctors(who get paid to perform the liberation procedure) who are financially invested in CCSVI research are considered "saints". If everyone is self serving than Zamboni is no different than Friedman, they just have different interests but the bottom line is money.
Your point is valid, Scorpion. I work in the financial services industry and know money quite well.
You're right- scientists, researchers and doctors performing the Liberation procedure all stand to gain here. In the same light, MS researchers, pharma companies and neuros all have gained- for years- based on an autoimmune theory that was never proven. Expensive drugs, treatments and recurring neuro visits from a community of chronically ill patients all equal recurring revenue. Not only recurring revenue, but revenue that can be forecast with anticipated growth due to the new patients diagnosed every year.
The tobacco industry used to develop marketing plans that targeted children and teenagers, remember? Get them young, get them hooked and book the revenue for life. Now I am not comparing pharma et al to tobacco companies, but I will say that the marketing plans for CRABS don't seem to be very different- get into the doctor's offices, start with patients immediately upon diagnosis, fund research that supports new drugs. Not new cures- new drugs.
Those that support CCSVI in the medical community will make money, to be sure. But to make a fair comparison, Scorpion, you would need to say that the Liberation procedure would have to be performed monthly- which isn't the case. While there have been cases of restenosis, that has not been universal. No IR or vascular surgeon could possibly be banking on getting that same patient's money on a regular basis.
In the earlier part of this century, the United States was dotted with special hospitals to treat tuberculosis. The treatments were all experimental in principle, because patients still died. We now know that treating TB by letting the patient sit in sunlight for hours is ludicrous- but at the time, that was a justifiable treatment option. No one dies of TB anymore in this country- because we figured out how to cure and prevent it. I see MS now in the same light; I pray that one day our children and grandchildren will learn how the disease was treated as an autoimmune disorder when its roots were really vascular in nature. I hope they teach that history lesson in school to encourage our children to be open-minded and see all possibilities.
Frankly, I hope that the financial opportunities afforded with CCSVI push more doctors to support the principal and the treatment of this disease.
Three veins angioplastied. One renewed life.