This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

British doctors are set to offer patients a ground-breaking treatment for the devastating nerve disease ­multiple sclerosis.

An Italian doctor has successfully treated MS patients with pioneering surgery to widen narrowed veins. Now specialists in this country are poised to use the same procedure.

A private clinic said last night that it would offer the treatment within a matter of weeks in Glasgow and London.

Dr Tom Gilhooly, of the Essentials Clinic, said: “The consultants we have been speaking to use this type of procedure elsewhere in the body and so are happy to treat MS patients with narrowed veins.”

Until now doctors have believed MS is caused by a faulty immune system. But some experts are now convinced that damage to the nervous system may instead be caused by poor blood flow in narrowed veins in the chest, neck and head. This allows toxins to break through what is known as the blood-brain barrier to attack nerves in the brain.

The solution, say surgeons, is to widen the veins with keyhole surgery using a balloon or thin metal tubes known as stents. Both techniques are already used to treat narrowed heart arteries..................

http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseact ... ageid=2954

That is big news for the UK. I'm glad to see that things are moving outside of research. No doubt that research needs to be done, but not into whether cerebral blood drainage is critically important, or not.

Imagine the headlines: "Doctors don't know how - but MS sufferers relieved by day surgery! Clinics pop up like mushrooms."

This is amazing news Squiffy.

It'll be interesting to see how much they charge for such a procedure. I hope it's not more than most MS patients can afford.

If it is, then I guess we will all be clambouring to get to Poland still!

Brilliant and exciting regardless!

Claire

I guess a vacation to the uk might be in order hehe

I was hoping this would happen, more clinics popping up to do the surgery. If these problems are found they should be fixed. Just because we have ms we have to live with dangerous closed off veins??? If we didn't have ms we would be fixed up at first site.

ClaireParry wrote:This is amazing news Squiffy.

It'll be interesting to see how much they charge for such a procedure. I hope it's not more than most MS patients can afford.

If it is, then I guess we will all be clambouring to get to Poland still!

Brilliant and exciting regardless!

Claire

Hi Claire,

The clinic is saying 2 - 300 pounds for the scanning.

You can find out more on our main CCSVI page - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseact ... ageid=2952 just scroll down to the Essential Health Clinic story.

Hope that helps.

squiffs.

Squiffy, I don't seem to be able to find anything on prices on the site. Can you guide me to where to find it? Thank you. And are there also prices for treatment or only scanning? Stents?

Danegirl - follow Squiffys link. Only pricing on scans at present.

Thats an amazing price! Poland is now much more than that.

Absolutely brilliant!!!!!!!

The cost of the scans in the UK is still to be finalized but should be around 250 to 300 pounds. We are also liasing with intervention radiologists to develop treatment centres in the UK. If you wish to register your interest and be kept informed of these developments you can register your interest in our web site.

http://www.essentialhealthclinic.com/we ... ation.html

In the middle of the page.
It includes VAT.

From what I can see they are looking to have one trained Radiologist in Glasgow in the second half of this year (2010) with more ongoing training to follow. There is nothing about Endovascular procedures but I am sure that once a vacular issue has been diagnosed and they have the correct equipment to see this then the surgery (Liberation Treatment) could be quick to follow as surgeons look to be ready to take on patients.
Hopefully by mid 2011 there will be multiple diagnostic clinics and treatment centres around the UK... fingers crossed.

(I am still off to Poland next month though as I am not willing to gamble another 2 years of my life to this disease)

The Sun newspaper, who have a massive circulation in the UK will be doing two pages on CCSVI, Gici and myself next week.
I have given the reporter details of Dr Gillhooly and Dr Crowe and hopefully they will publish it and how people can get their veins checked.

This is really good news.
I think the time limiting factor is to set up the diagnostic lab.
Treatment shouldn't be a problem since there are vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists already used to perform such procedures as stents or balloon angioplasty.
The clinic site list already CCSVI as a condition they treat.

"Our Treatments include:

LDN Therapy

CCSVI

The radical new theory of venous drainage being a major contributory factor in MS, could be one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of medicine...."

http://www.essentialhealthclinic.com/website/

Great News for UK Patients !!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/158 ... to-Britain

Would be good if the two threads "CCSVI in UK" and this one could be merged? Only saw this one now. All great news!
Also hope after Buffalo, that this private clinic approach could be a trend to spread across to other countries as well. The private clinics should wake up - and realise : we have both to gain here! Us a more than promising chance, and them bridging the crisis period !

I for one, assuredly won't be going to any clinic, private or otherwise, because I have gone longer than anyone treated by Zamboni, seven years come August, without having any relapse. In that time I have done nothing but improve and all for the cost of a few thousand pounds.

Before I started abx was getting worse by the day and my neuro told my husband that he would have to son "make arrangements" for me.

Sarah

Anecdote, can you tell more? What exactly do you take?? I am also progressiv at edss 7.