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Merlyn wrote:The other thing that bothers me about the whole Zamboni CCSVI campaign in a way is that they totally ignore that iron is found in the brain of other conditions, like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Huntington's... I think to be totally honest they should be including that fact when talking about MS and iron in the brain. It is not unique to MS!

45 patients affected by other neurological diseases (OND) (table 2); this group was composed of patients affected by neurodegenerative disorders (Parkinson disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-ALS), other neuroimmunological disorders including myasthenia gravis and multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN), and cerebrovascular disease (ischaemic stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA)).

Merlyn wrote:Donnchadh-so glad that blood donation has helped! How often can you do this?

Donnchadh=Before the CCSVI procedure, on an eight week schedule. I have not done it since then because I am on Plavik for 30 days.

I really really think we need a clinical trial of phlebotomies for people with MS that are iron loading. Did you do a blood test for iron metabolism? Or did you just go on instinct?

Donnchadh=The idea came originally from the "Neanther-Thin" forum. A previous blood profile panel showed that my blood was within normal parameters.

I keep wondering whether reducing the iron would correct the stenosis. I mean, would phlebotomy draw the iron out of the blocked veins in the jugular?

Donnchadh=I seriously doubt if giving blood by itself would correct stenosis of the veins. It deals with the consequences of BBB reflux. A stenosis is not a "blockage" but rather a constriction in the vesicular walls. Iron is deposited in the brain and spinal cord. The question is can iron be removed from existing lesions sites?

We don't know obviously because it's never been tried! I don't know whether I have CCSVI, and I am so debilitated I don't know whether I would be able to get on a table or anything to test for it... can't get to the clinic in Vancouver that is testing for it. Can't travel.

My advice is to try to keep reducing the iron, but if testing as possible to do that to see where your ferritin levels etc. are at. I think it's crazy that phlebotomy is so hard to access considering that they will spend thousands and thousands on MRIs etc., but people can't convince doctors to help them do this. Phlebotomy seems to be the quickest way to reduce iron levels, the most effective according to the iron overload diseases organization. Those people with hemochromatosis sometimes have to remove 2 pints of blood a week for up to three years!

Donnchadh=Hemochromatosis and MS are two different animals.

I am still amazed that the body can handle that, a gallon a month! You think this would totally deplete the body of all minerals, but I guess it's that or cirrhosis or heart attack or something.

Donnchadh=Hemochromatosis and MS are two different animals.

http://www.hemochromatosis.org/Internal ... hromatosis

Therefore, undiagnosed and untreated HHC increases the risk for diseases and conditions such as diabetes mellitus, irregular heart beat or heart attack, arthritis (osteoarthritis, osteoporosis), cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer, depression, impotence, infertility, hypothyroidism, hypogonadism, and some cancers. Mismanaged iron in the brain is seen in those patients with neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer's, early onset Parkinson's, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington's disease.

Rokkit wrote:I don't think iron in the blood has anything to do with iron in the brain, am I wrong? As for how to get rid of the accumulated iron in the brain, that is the $64K question. I'm hopeful that the work of Mark Haacke will cause some things to start happening in this regard.

Zeureka wrote:

Rokkit wrote:I don't think iron in the blood has anything to do with iron in the brain, am I wrong? As for how to get rid of the accumulated iron in the brain, that is the $64K question. I'm hopeful that the work of Mark Haacke will cause some things to start happening in this regard.

Indeed Rokkit..I asked this question in Ferrara and they told me the iron level in blood has nothing to do with the brain issue.

So it's better not to try to reduce iron in the diet (I admit that also in the start tried to do so as sounded logical and however stopped avoiding iron-rich foods after they told me this in Ferrara)- as getting anaemic for no real benefit could even worsen symptoms such as fatigue and dizziness... How to get rid of heavy metal in our brains still a mystery and under research. I've actually never been a fan of heavy metal , have you?!

2006: Mishra Vivek; Mahor Sunil; Rawat Amit; Gupta Prem N; Dubey Praveen; Khatri Kapil; Vyas Suresh P
Targeted brain delivery of AZT via transferrin anchored pegylated albumin nanoparticles.
Journal of drug targeting 2006;14(1):45-53.
Hydrophilic drugs/peptides have poor cross Blood-brain permeability. Various drug delivery systems with diverse surfacial characteristics have been reported for effective translocation of drugs across Blood-brain barrier. In present investigation, the potential of engineered albumin nanoparticles was evaluated for brain specific delivery after intravenous administration. Long circulatory PEGylated albumin nanoparticles encapsulating water-soluble antiviral drug azidothymidine (AZT) were prepared by ultra-emulsification method using chemical cross-linking by glutaraldehyde. Surface of the PEGylated nanoparticles was modified by anchoring transferrin as a ligand for brain targeting. Nanoparticles were characterized for their size, polydispersity, surfacial charge, drug loading and in vitro drug release. Fluorescence studies revealed the enhanced uptake of transferrin-anchored nanoparticles in the brain tissues when compared with unmodified nanoparticles. In vivo evaluation was carried out on albino rats to evaluate tissue distribution of engineered nanoparticles after intravenous administration. A significant ((*)P < 0.01) enhancement of brain localization of AZT was observed for transferrin anchored pegylated albumin nanopariticles (Tf-PEG-NPs). Hence, the specific role of transferrin ligand on nanoparticles for brain targeting was confirmed