Tracy
Thanks for posting this. I find Buffalo's results of CCSVI in people with SPMS pretty interesting.
CCSVI prevalence ..........almost 90% in those with secondary progressive MS and a disease history of 20 years
I've come across some info on another condition, "Leukoaraiosis", "a major cause of vascular and dementia in the elderly" where it's been suggested that jugular venous reflux may be relevant.
Pathogenesis of leukoaraiosis: role of jugular venous reflux
Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion associated with vasogenic edema, microbleeding or/and endothelial dysfunction found in LA favors venous ischemia, in stead of arterial ischemia, as its pathogenesis.
The involved regions in LA, periventricular and subcortical regions, are the drainage territory of deep cerebral venous system and the watershed region between the superficial and deep cerebral venous system respectively....
cerebral venous hypertension caused by downstream venous outflow impairment might play a major role in the pathogenesis of LA.
Internal jugular vein is the main venous outflow pathway for cerebral venous drainage.
The frequency of jugular venous reflux (JVR) is increased with aging.
Hypertension, which has a decreased venous distensibility, might further exacerbate the sustained or long-term repetitive retrograde-transmitted cerebral venous pressure and venous outflow insufficiency caused by JVR.
Clinically, JVR caused by a dural AV fistula does lead to cerebral hypoperfusion, white matter abnormalities, vasogenic edema and cognitive impairment in several published reports.
JVR is suggested to play a key role in the pathogenesis of LA through a sustained or long-term repetitive retrograde-transmitted cerebral venous pressure and venous outflow insufficiency, which might lead to chronic cerebral venous hypertensions, abnormal cerebral venules structural changes, decreased cerebral blood flow, endothelial dysfunction, and vasogenic edema in cerebral white matters.
Clearly, the highlight as it pertains to the Buffalo findings re: 90% CCSVI in people with SPMS, is that it would appear that jugular venous reflux gets worse with age, so the Buffalo results could be consistent with jugular venous reflux, at least viewed through this lens. There's also research indicating that disability levels in MS are related to age.
And, just to make it really interesting, here's Wikipedia's take on
leukoaraiosis
Leukoaraiosis is a term for changes in the cerebral white matter that can be detected with high frequency by CT and MRI in aged individuals.
It is a descriptive term for rarefaction of the white matter.
It is also commonly referred to as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) due to its bright white appearance on T2 MRI scans.
Underlying vascular mechanisms are suspected.
This white matter pathology is inconsistently associated with cognitive impairment, motor dysfunction, and gait disturbances. Slowed cognitive speed of processing and frontal executive abilities are also common.
Sounds kind of familiar to me.
Unrelated, but I just now saw this abstract and it may have already been posted, but interesting nonethless since there's lots of optic neuritis associated with MS.
Jugular venous reflux affects ocular venous system in transient monocular blindness
Take care all and thanks again Tracy. Hope more improvements consistently come your way.
Sharon