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have I missed anything concerning egcg and the CCSVI?

In the last few years, researchers have recognized the presence of increased iron content in the basal ganglia and thalamus. This in itself suggests the possibility of venous damage in MS. But the interest and association of MS with veins dates back to Fog (1) in 1964 with a major decade's long effort to convince people of the role of the mechanical effects of changes in venous flow by Schelling (2). However, the excitement comes from a proof of concept that MS is a chronic cerebral spinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) by Paolo Zamboni and his team (3).

Neurodegeneration
The third major area of application for EGCG is the prevention or reversal of neurodegenerative diseases, including:5

•Alzheimer’s Disease (‘AD’)
•Parkinson’s Disease (‘PD’)
•Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, ‘Lou Gehrig’s Disease’) 30
•Huntington’s Disease
Why does EGCG have a beneficial effect for these diseases? One reason has to do with EGCG’s effects on iron atoms in the brain. Iron has a known association with neurodegenerative diseases:5 it promotes the oxidative damage of nerve cells, and appears to play a role in maintaining plaques of ‘amyloid-beta’ protein in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Laboratory experiments have shown that EGCG has strong iron-chelating activity11 — that is, EGCG readily removes iron atoms from in and around brain cells.

Researchers working on iron chelation as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases are impressed by the results they have obtained, as is indicated by these quotes from their published papers:

•“Thus, the natural non-toxic brain-permeable EGCG may provide a potential therapeutic approach for AD and other iron-associated disorders.”11
•“Also, EGCG reduced the levels of toxic amyloid-beta peptides…”5
•“The diverse molecular mechanisms and cell signaling pathways participating in the neuroprotective/neurorescue and APP regulation/processing actions of M-30 and EGCG, make these multifunctional compounds potential neuroprotective drugs for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as PD, AD, Huntington's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.”5
•“The treatment ((for ALS)) of more than 2.9 microg EGCG/g body weight significantly prolonged the symptom onset and life span, preserved more survival signals, and attenuated death signals.”30

ursula wrote: I´m just wondering if it will ever become a standard MS-therapy.
The big pharmas won´t be glad with it as egcg can´t be patented.

I´ll stick to it anyway...

ursula

radeck wrote:Ok thanks. Who organized the trial btw?