This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

The hypothesis of my paper is plausible and clear (that's where good science begins) but my main purpose is to expose MS as a blood circulation disorder (or perhaps fluid circulation in general as per Chinese Medical theory) and to provide treatment guidelines for MS patients based on my own 32 years' experience
I've decided to create a new vocabulary for Multiple Sclerosis since the current one is derived from the erroneous auto-immune theory.
I believe there are four main types of MS –Congenital, Developmental, Toxic and Aging.

CONGENITAL: This idea is favoured by Phlebologists and Dr. Sclafani. However, it doesn’t account for the epidemiological variations in geography, culture or gender. However, obviously it can be one factor.
DEVELOPMENTAL; My beginning hypothesis was that stress (of many potential origins) damages the veins in the child's developing body so that once adult the veins can no longer accommodate the blood flow. Defects in the circulatory system impede if not outright block blood flow leading from the brain and spinal cord leading to MS "attacks" and subsequent paralysis. It is for this reason that MS first generally manifests during or after adolescence. Dr. Zamboni himself observed deformities in the veins in the back and neck of MS patients. These areas correspond to Acupuncture meridians which control blood/fluid circulation. One might object that Chinese Medical Theory is not “scientific”. It is an empirical knowledge based on thousands of years of observation. Sometimes science has to catch up with practice. Think of how drug companies are scouring the earth for plants used in folk medicine in search of therapeutic molecules.

TOXIC MS: The third type concerns a "temporary" stress reaction to a toxic substance such as aspartame. The reaction is "temporary" in the sense that once the toxin is removed, the MS symptoms disappear. There may be an overlap between type one and type two if a child's development is stressed due to a food intolerance - for example to glutens - or another toxin.

AGING MS :The fourth type develops with age. There is no reason why veins shouldn't harden and malfunction as a part of the aging process. When the valves in veins draining the central nervous system malfunction, blood backs up to injure the myelin sheath.

Toxic MS is most definitely curable once one has identified and eliminated the toxin. (Aspartame “MS” cases are an excellent example of a toxic substance which tenses up the fluid circulation sufficiently to create a blood reflux. Dr. Terry Wahls began her treatment by de-toxifying from the MS drugs which were poisoning her. Her recovery implies that her veins were not actually blocked, but tensed up enough to cause a reflux. Also, she stimulated her blood circulation by electrical stimulation of the bands of muscles on her back, in other words, the bladder meridian. Optimal Diet/Supplements serve two purposes. To prevent stress on the vascular system which might lead to blood reflux and 2) heal damaged tissue.

Developmental MS and Aging MS are more complicated problems. The veins need to be examined. In the past two years
Dr. Sclafani has perfected techniques for CCSVI endovascular therapies (to release venous blood circulation) using catheterization, venography, and ultravascular ultrasound. Work on stem cells may further enhance the viability of these therapies. Angioplasty may be the only solution if there is a serious vein malformation resistant to physical manipulation and/or exhibiting a definite occlusion.
(Reflect on this case for a minute. I met a Frenchwoman 15 years ago who reported that after an Ayervedic massage performed by several women in India she completely recovered. Her report resembles the testimony of those who leave their wheelchair behind after successful Angioplasty. This didn't make sense to me at the time, but now I realize that the massage must have opened the blood circulation. Unfortunately the recovery didn't last and once in France her health rapidly declined. She probably needed angioplasty to keep her veins/valves open since daily massage would be impractical. Unfortunately I can't find her. This case nonetheless implies that her veins were not entirely blocked. Maybe the valves were stiff and closed off the blood flow, especially under stress.)

Whatever the pathology, treatments to at least "control" the disease process can probably be developed. There are numerous options including massage, acupuncture, and TENS self acupressure treatment. I've never tried the self discipline of Yoga, but if Master practitioners can control their bodily functions, why not try to control the blood flow from the brain?

Note that on April 3, 2012 Dr. Sclafani observed
"Firstly, not all resistance to flow is caused by stenosis (narrowing) (of the vein).. Narrowing can be secondary to 1.hypoplasia,or failure to grow to proper size 2. extrinsic compression by a duplicated vein 3.transverse webs of tissue acting like a lid on the vein 4. or septum that divides the tube (jugular) into two smaller tubes 5. A diverticulum that compresses the vein 6. by valves that are stiff and do not open and close properly 7 valves made of several leaflets that end up fused together 8 valves that are located in abnormal locations."

He has seen this in his angioplasty patients which implies that they were identified as having structural problems in their veins before intervention (not necessarily true for all MS patients.) Two Doppler Sonograms revealed no abnormality in my case so I may not have a readily identifiable structural defect. Under stress I have the impression ALL the fluids in my body seize up. Perhaps the valves in the veins "freeze", or the vein simply compresses.
I'll call this the Flat Vein condition (no observable deformity) which shouldn't be treated with angioplasty. Rather, various physical manipulations or exercise can promote blood circulation, probably on a daily basis. (Massage, Self-Acupressure, Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Swimming, etc)
The Twisted Vein might be susceptible to physical manipulation. (Veins are pliable.) If not angioplasty is probably in order.
With the Plugged Vein (Thrombosis) there is probably no alternative to angioplasty since the vein is outright blocked and blood struggles with difficulty to descend through "collateral' veins. This patient is doubtless the most severely afflicted. S/he will have to weigh carefully the possible benefits and risks, quality of life etc.. Until treatment can be obtained, the patient will need medications to treat the blood reflux and immune system reaction.
Now, one might ask, how do I know any of this? I don't. These are plausible hypotheses to be studied by those in a position to do so. But researchers need to change gears, they are barking up the wrong tree.
At present MS studies remind me of what is said about the 13th Century Scholastic School of theologians (e.g. Thomas Aquinas) who laboured over the question of how many angels could dance on the head of a pin (or point of a needle.) - good brainpower wasting time on an erroneous idea (or belief).
How would I characterize my own Multiple Sclerosis? Originally of Growth/Toxic origin with a Flat Vein condition. (Origin) Childhood stress coupled with food intolerances (toxic) which can be controlled (Treatment) through optimal nutrition as well as activites which enhance blood circulation. Aging has apparently weakened the valves allowing greater backflow.

Consider the following idea of how I think MS evolves.
Now that we know that MS is in fact a venous blood circulation disorder, I can imagine the stress being so extreme that it literally pushes the blood right back up into the brain and spinal cord, like a pressure cooker. If that one time extreme pressure experience is never repeated, chances are one can recover and never have a repeat.
Dr. Sclafani has observed that 85% of the vein narrowings in M.S. are in fact valve problems. Let’s say that each attack “blows” the valves. Eventually the valves weaken and fail, either causing a total vein obstruction, or an ongoing blood reflux, transforming the relapsing/remitting MS into various forms of progressive MS.

Final note: I don’t see how a “double blind” study of CCSVI can account for all these variables.
MS Cure Enigmas.net

Vesta, I enjoy reading your posts, you put a lot of thought into them.
I wanted to focus in on this to suggest that the valves don't weaken and fail, they stiffen and fail.
Both a partial or total vein obstruction can lead to retrograde flow and stasis and slowed flow.
I think RR transforms into SP when the brain loses its ability to bounce back.
I had a total vein obstruction on my left side and a near total obstruction on my right, but I am still RR. What's not accounted for in your theory, that I saw, was the presence of collaterals: my vertebral veins and azygous were workhorses, making up as much as they could for what my jugulars couldn't do.

I was RR myself once, about 8 years ago... I hope all those who think they have somehow escaped the ravages of "secondary progressive" CCSVI or "MS" or whatever it is we all seem to have, are right, and will never have any trouble walking more than a block.

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

I thought about typing "knock on wood" when typing that.

Well thought out and summarised Vesta. No wonder that it is so difficult to get a handle on this "disease".

Thanks all for the positive feedback. Cece, maybe I should simply write the veins "malfunction" stiffen or weaken? anyway they stop working correctly and with each "attack" things may deteriorate. You say you are RR even after having undergone angioplasty on the jugulars. Do you still have relapses? How long have you known you have MS and how long ago was angioplasty performed? I would think opening the veins would - ideally - have ended the relapses. Thanks again.

Even after veins are successfully opened, there is still the damage that has been done, which may include weakened neurons or iron deposits in the brain or a weakened blood brain barrier or myelin-sensitized t-cells. The procedure cannot be a guarantee that the relapses will end. But I have heard from people who said that their relapses were less and their recovery from the relapse quicker after the procedure. That's anecdotal and there are others who've had better or worse experiences.

For myself, I haven't had a relapse since my procedures but that doesn't signify much yet since my most recent relapse was in 2010 and the one before that was in 2005 and before that, although I wasn't diagnosed with MS yet at the time, was probably 2001. My MS diagnosis was in 2006 but the beginnings of my neurological symptoms was way back in 1991. Angioplasty was performed in Feb 2011 and then in July 2011, although that second angio was on the left jugular only, so my right jugular is 20 months post-treatment. As of last neurologist appt, my neuro is still calling my MS benign, which used to feel like a cruel joke (because my fatigue and cogfog and vision issues did not feel benign and were kinda running my life) but now with those symptoms ameliorated, the diagnosis of benign feels right.

Well, we're in disagreement too that the valves ever worked well enough to say that they, at some point, stopped working well. But I have to reread what you wrote under the congenital theory in your first post.

There is a condition where the valves within the jugular veins weaken, and to confuse everybody it's also called an insufficiency, but it is a very different situation in which there is backwash from the flow that should be headed toward the heart, and this slows down flow or causes reflux, and is associated with transient global amnesia immediately after a valsalva event (valsalva being when you bear down, which causes the jugulars to expand as flow is temporally stopped from going forward; childbirth is the biggest valsalva event out there). It's because that's a condition in which the jugular valves weaken that it is important to distinguish that this is not what is going on in CCSVI; in CCSVI, the valves are stiff and don't let flow pass. But you are also talking about veins as a whole, and not valves. The research on collagen in veins shows that people with MS have abnormal amounts of collagen III in our veins, which makes the veins stiffer. If something could be done to reduce this stiffness in the veins overall, I expect it would have a positive impact on the flow, because veins that were less stiff would be most distensible which would mean that excess flow could pool in the jugulars while the flow waited to pass through the chokeneck of the valve stenosis. If the jugulars have a great capacity to distend, it might mean the flow can at least get out of the brain and into the jugulars, so that the refluxing and stasis could be more a problem in the neck and not a problem intracranially.

My idea for reducing overall jugular stiffness is for there to be gentle ballooning of the entire jugular, not just the concentrated ballooning at the area of the stenosis. But I am open to other ideas.

Hypertension or moments of high blood pressure may be something that pushes more blood flow into the brain (good) but which increases the focal pressure points on the blood brain barrier at points where the incoming flow meets the refluxing flow and their individual pressure measurements temporally combine to be additive (bad). Definitely a pressure cooker.