can the lame be cured?

[1eye]

I have a notion that without more miraculous treatment than the average CCSVI procedure, some of us are going to get no better.

The reason I think that has to do with capillaries. I offer my understanding of the circulation of blood as follows: From the source at the heart, blood flow first goes to the lungs, to acquire more oxygen. From there the now-red blood goes back to the left heart, and gets pumped out at high speed and pressure to the various organs of the body, arm, legs, brain, stomach, etc. On the way, the arteries split into smaller vessels, until they are so small, they are called arterioles, and they reach the organs to be supplied. Once there, they divide into even smaller tubes called capillaries, inside the organ tissue. These can be so small only one blood cell can pass at a time. These cells pass oxygen and carbohydrate from the blood, through the vessel walls, and supply the organs.

From there, the capillaries get larger again, until they combine into venules, which themselves combine into veins, larger veins, and they combine until the vena cavas, and such large veins, take the blood back to the right side of the heart. In the skin, bones, and other organs of the body the large groups of capillaries, derived from the arteries and arterioles, veins and venules, are called capillary beds.

The resistance to blood flow gets progressively lower as the vessels divide and acquire more and more surface area through which to deliver the oxygen. Once it leaves the organs, blood is under a lot less pressure because the number of vessels doubles every time there is a bifurcation. The now massively parallel networks of vessels have a very low fluid impedance, so less and less resistance is encountered, until the final very low resistance through the capillary beds. The resistance of each individual capillary path is fairly high due to their extreme narrowness, but the total of a bed is very low due to sheer numbers of them.

The pressure drops at every stage and every change of number and strength and diameter of these vessels, so that the very high blood pressure upon exit from the heart, is much lower when it returns. Blood loses food, oxygen, pressure, and speed as it goes. The total surface area of blood vessels, taken together, is gigantic, and the total surface area encountered by each heartbeat’s worth of blood is very large.

Unfortunately some of the drainage encounters narrowing in the veins, and slows down. The reaction of blood vessels to the resulting low throughput of oxygen is angiogenesis, which is why collateral veins appear. Unfortunately as we age the narrowings may get worse, and the body lose more and more of its capability of angiogenesis. The result of that is that capillaries begin to die off, and they, along with any collateral veins which cannot be used any longer, are resorbed into the surrounding tissue. Also, when capillaries are gone and no longer provided with oxygen and sugar, the organ’s tissue itself dies off and atrophies,

This process can only be reversed by angiogenesis and the return of oxygen and food. As we age we lose the capability to grow new veins and capillaries. Besides, after sufficient disuse the pathways in the brain that have been unused are taken over by opportunistic other brain growth. The result is similar to that of a stroke, and the re-learning which must take place is formidable. We can live without large parts of our brains, but may not be able to re-learn all of its function.

Drugs such as LDN and Human Growth Hormone can encourage new blood supplies, but the nerves that have been lost may not return. Recovery is all about re-learning, and for some it may be impossible. The return of blood flow cannot revive dead neurons. There are enough neurons to do the re-learning, but there may not be enough time. Like head injury, the only real cure may be prevention. That's why if you are still only relapsing-remitting, time is of the essence.

[Cece]

The return of blood flow cannot revive dead neurons, but it can do tremendous things for the damaged neurons.
Stem cells have potential as a post-CCSVI treatment. Who knows what else might be discovered if all of MS research starts going down the right track.
I think the future is bright, but if it is a few decades off, that does not help us in the here and now.
Are you still stable, 1eye? If you haven't yet had an effective CCSVI treatment, if the first one resulted in early restenosis, then we don't yet know what CCSVI can and can't do for you.
I get frustrated at the current state of affairs. Not enough research, not enough availability of the procedure, not enough standardization of the procedure.