This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

http://registration.akm.ch/einsicht.php ... KEN_ID=900


Linked above is the abstract for part of the one year results from the BNAC CCSVI study, as to be presented at the ECTRIMS meeting in France.
This particular study looked at pwMS and CCSVI who were treated with venoplasty.
There were two groups studied--ALL were given venoplasty.
One group was treated immediately, or the "immediate treatment group" of 8 --ITG
the second group was treated six months later, or the "delayed treatment group" of 7--DTG


Please note that this study is not looking at how venoplasty affects MS symptoms, or MS progression. It is simply looking at what happens to cerebrospinal fluid velocity in the brain. This is a very important area of study, because it is a tangible, measurable change in brain perfusion. We are now learning how CSF movement is essential for brain health, and how detrimental CSF stasis, or lack of movement, can harm the brain.


Here is a study from Dr. Zamboni from the beginnings of his research, where he noted that the severity of CCSVI was related to alterations in cerebrospinal fluid dynamics.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20018140


Here's a breakdown of the abstract--

--This is an important thing BNAC noted. The immediate affect of venoplasty in the ITG group was to cause a small and temporary brain volume decrease--they call it "pseudoatrophy" because it isn't real brain tissue loss, it's just that the brain temporarily appears smaller due to increased cerebrospinal fluid flow and better venous drainage. (Jeff and I know about this from his firsthand experience. He had some nasty headaches after venoplasty at Stanford, which could be relieved when he lay down. These positional headaches were no doubt due to the change of fluid levels in his brain. As Dr. Dake said to him, it's as though his brain became a wrung out sponge---the fluid levels were being altered, and he was getting CSF headaches. Eventually, the headaches became less regular, and then disappeared. And he has no signs of any brain atrophy.)



This explains the objective, or reason for the study. BNAC wanted to look at how cerebrospinal fluid flowed throught the brain during the cardiac cycle. They measured this on MRI during the phases of one complete filling and then emptying of the heart with blood.



When they started, before treatment at baseline measurements, all of the 15 patients showed similar rates of CSF pulsatile flow. But at 6 months after the first group was treated, there became a significant difference in flow velocity when they compared the treated group to the non-treated group. And this difference continued....when the delayed group was treated at 6 months, the group that had been treated 12 months ago still showed a bit better flow. And the newly treated group showed increases in CSF velocity and flow.



This is interesting, because it appears that EVERYONE who was treated with venoplasty had this improvement in cerebrospinal fluid flow. BNAC posits that this is due to better venous drainage.

So, here we have a measurable improvement following venoplasty for CCSVI----better cerebrospinal fluid flow.
Better cleansing of the delicate brain tissues, better transport of nutrients, better cerebral pressure regulation.
That sounds like something people with a neurodegenerative disease might find beneficial, don't you think?
Thanks to BNAC for moving CCSVI research forward at ECTRIMS,
cheer

_________________
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS

It's so good to see real research presented at ECTRIMS. Not all the back-and-forth imaging studies where some studies find CCSVI and some studies don't.

It's interesting that the 12 month group had better CSF flow than the delayed group even after the delayed group had the procedure. Maybe this is something where it continues to improve over time?

Doesn't it give yet another reason insurance companies might benefit (from improved claimant health)? My health continued to improve over time.

I tricycled 6k yesterday. It might have been the cooler weather, but I did not feel wasted afterward, like I usually do. I was up till 2:30 the last 2 nights, transferring records, and we had gone to see a play at our local little theater the night before last.

My last cognitive test was pretty basic, but I passed without a hitch.

_________________
"Try - Just A Little Bit Harder" - Janis Joplin
CCSVI procedure Albany Aug 2010
'_MS' is over - if you want it
Patients sans/without patience

Thank u oneeye. U have shown us the one way.

Cece and oneye...I do think this is the sort of thing that seems to improve over time. And if venous flow can be maintained, it's a virtuous cycle of improvement. You feel energized, you move more, CSF flow increases, you are more energized. And so on....

http://www.jappl.org/content/104/1/306.full

Hope BNAC is still following the CSF levels in those 15 people.
cheer

_________________
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS

I wonder also that if the change in cerebro spinal fluid is massive after, say, the stenting of the left renal vein and azygous ballooning, then symptoms may initially deteriorate...

_________________
3 years antibiotics, 06/09 bilateral jug stents at C1, 05/11 ballooning of both jug valves, 07/12 stenting of renal vein, azygos & jug valve ballooning,

I am very cynical about this. I did say I continued to improve, not that I am continuing to improve now. I am not. It has pretty much come to an end. But I was not tricycling or going to plays before the procedure, that's for sure. Now I am hoping increased Vitamin D will help.

I have few options left. I hope no-one thinks I can show them the one way. I need a much stronger flashlight, and I can't see well enough to find one.

I am glad Dr. Zivadinov continues to elucidate the role of CSF in this.

_________________
"Try - Just A Little Bit Harder" - Janis Joplin
CCSVI procedure Albany Aug 2010
'_MS' is over - if you want it
Patients sans/without patience

hey there iima 1eye, what's your total supplement regimen at this time?

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

An important finding as it gives a good reason for pwMS to undergo venoplasty. However it is only a piece in the jigsaw not the whole picture. Please do not think that changing CSF flow explains all changes after venoplasty. Changes in fatigue could well be related to CSF flow (clearing the waste products in the brain). Other improvements are more likely to be due to vagal nerve changes but it likely to take years to explain why venoplasty works for many pwMS. Lets show venoplasty helps pwMS, saying why can wait for the boffins to do their research.
MarkW

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Mark Walker - Oxfordshire, England. Registered Pharmacist (UK). 10 years of study around MS.
Mark's CCSVI Report 7-Mar-11:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8359854/MS-experts-in-Britain-have-to-open-their-minds.html