Page 1 of 1

Dr David Spence

Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 1:01 pm
by Direct-MS
Dr David Spence, a neurologist at U of Western Ontario, likes to trash CCSVI and has called the IRs who are doing CCSVI treatments scounrels, charlatans and quacks.

You might wonder why he is so anti-CCSVI. Dr Spence receives substantial money from pharmaceutical companies including those which manufacture and market drugs for MS. He has received honoraria for speaking and research support from Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi-Synthelabo, and Wyeth. He has acted as a consultant for Boehringer Ingelheim.

So Dr Spence is nothing more than a shill for the drug companies and he is doing what he can to prevent CCSVI treatment from replacing the current drug treatments. Any major loss in revenue for the drug companies means a loss in revenue for him. So who can blame him for shafting persons with MS so he can maintain his very comfortable lifestyle.

Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 3:30 pm
by cheerleader
Thanks for this info, Direct-MS....not surprised.
We've discussed Dr. Spence on this thread:
http://www.thisisms.com/ftopicp-125742.html

Here's my objection to his quotes in the press:
Dr. Spence refers to the venous abnormalities as being inside the brain, and relates it to stroke--his specialty, saying that CCSVI is not related to MS. He has obviously not read any of the research.

Dr. Spence in his own words---
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010 ... 35416.html

Quote:
“For sure we would all love it to be true, it would be great to have a new treatment for multiple sclerosis, but there are a whole bunch of problems.”

One of the problems with the theory that multiple sclerosis is connected to blocked veins is that narrowed veins in the brain can cause strokes. But the part of the brain affected by strokes is not the same part affected by MS, Spence said.

In addition, many MS lesions are found in the spinal cord, not in the brain, so the narrowing of veins in the brain is not going to cause those lesions, he said.

“The theory is implausible because it doesn’t bear any relationship to what we already know about these things,” he said. “Everything we know about MS so far indicates it is an inflammatory condition.”

Here is an e-mail I sent to Dr. Spence after reading these incorrect statements he made to the press regarding CCSVI as being intracranial.
dspence@robarts.ca
Dear Dr. Spence--

You were incorrect in your recently published assessment of Dr. Zamboni's discovery. Dr. Zamboni found venous stenosis, reflux, and blockage in the extracranial veins, specifically the jugular and azygos veins. This is very different than venous stroke we see involving the intracranial veins. The collateral circulation patterns created by CCSVI involve the brain and spine. CCSVI could potentially lead to slowed perfusion, hypoxic injury and plasmic deposition into brain tissue (particularly the thalmus) and the spinal column. Our site has information and peer-reviewed published research papers which explain this finding. I hope you find it useful.

www.ccsvi.org
I was hoping for a correction or retraction...or maybe a reply. No such luck.
cheer

Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 3:58 pm
by cheerleader
Just a bit more...
Dr. J David Spence was a neurologist before becoming an advocate for pharmaceutical intervention for hypertensive patients.

http://www.robarts.ca/sparc/jdspence.php

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/164/2/176

The fact that he is a go-to critic of CCSVI research for the Canadian press is curious. Especially since he apparently did not ever read Dr. Zamboni's research, or note that the stenosis was OUTSIDE the brain.

Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 5:52 pm
by Johnson
Nice call-out, Joan.

ccsvi

Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 6:37 pm
by blossom
cheerleader, how i would love to see you be able to discuss ccsvi face to face with dr. david spence in front of a nice crowd of reporters that would print the truth. i do believe your words would be wise and informative and you could back them up. as for dr. spence i feel the reporters would have a hard time reporting anything he would have to say due to a "stuttering" problem. i do believe one on one-face to face you would have him "stuttering" big time.

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 4:56 pm
by Direct-MS
As a person who also stutters, there is no doubt I should be the one who debates Dr Spence. Could be quite the show with both of us wearing raincoats. It definitely would be very long.
I must admit I kind of like him now that I know he is a member of our exclusive club that loves email and texting and despises the telephone.

ccsvi

Posted: Sat Sep 11, 2010 6:40 pm
by blossom
direct-ms, i hope my remark about stuttering did not hurt you or offend you. i think by the humor in your comment you know where i was coming from. maybe i should have said he would be speechless but that too could be something some are dealing with. regardless, the man doesn't have his story straight and if put up against someone like you or cheer he would i think look and sound pretty foolish. what would he back his comments up with? i do want you to know i'm not and never was one to make fun to hurt someone. i've had it done to me and it is not fun. but i do see your sence of humor "i like the raincoat theme". sometimes we have to laugh at ourselves just to survive that day just to try to make it to the next day. that saying - laugh and the world laughs with you-cry and you cry alone. so true-sad-but true.

Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 10:31 am
by Blaze
For some reason, since Dr. Spence wrote an opinion piece for London Free Press (in Ontario), some Canadian media are now using him as an "expert" source on CCSVI. One recently included Dr. Spence and a psychiatrist (?!?) as their medical experts as to why there should be no clinical treatment trials of CCSVI.

Here is a letter which Dr. Sandy McDonald wrote to the Free Press following an article in which Dr. Spence called CCSVI treatment "robbery:"

Dr. David Spence missed the mark in several of his comments in the recent article "Doc calls costly therapy robbery."

The article stated "One of the problems with the theory that multiple sclerosis is connected to blocked veins is that narrowed veins in the brain can cause strokes. But the part of the brain affected by strokes is not the same part affected in MS."

Strokes are usually caused by arterial blockages. In Dr. Paolo Zamboni's findings of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency(CCSVI) in people with M.S., Dr. Zamboni reported venous blockage of the jugular veins which carry blood from the brain--not arterial blockages carrying blood to the brain, as are often found in strokes.

Dr. Spence also points out many MS lesions are found in the spinal cord, not in the brain. Dr. Spence then concludes narrowing of veins in the brain will not cause those lesions. Again, it appears Dr. Spence is not familiar with Dr. Zamboni's findings concerning the azygous veins, (which are responsible for the drainage of the spinal cord). Many researchers who have reviewed Dr. Zamboni's work also found significant abnormalities in azygous veins, which, in turn, lead to spinal cord lesions.

There is good scientific evidence that supports the veno-centric position of lesions in M.S.

I recently had the opportunity to review new research findings studying MRIs and MRVs of people with MS. The research to date is very compelling and supports findings of Dr. Zamboni and others.

Modern neurology holds that MS is an autoimmune, inflammatory syndrome of unknown cause, revolving around that model. What if they're wrong? It may be that nobody finds a cure for M.S. because nobody thinks outside the box.

The venous theory has been available since 1935 and was recently reactivated by Dr. Zamboni and others. We have tested over 300 patients with MS and have found blocked jugular veins and other venous anomalies in over 90% of them. I and other vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists are prevented from treating these blocked veins in patients with M.S. in Canada, resulting in many going overseas or to the United States for the treatment, which Dr. Spence calls "robbery."

It is imperative Dr. Spence and others who are so suspicious of CCSVI give it serious attention. Patients with M.S. deserve no less.

Sandy McDonald, RVT, MD, FRSCS, FACS Vascular Surgeon Medical Director, Barrie Vascular Imaging 50 Alliance Blvd., Barrie Ontario

Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 12:47 pm
by cheerleader
Dr. J. David Spence was a neurologist before becoming an advocate for pharmaceutical intervention for hypertensive patients.

Glad to see Dr. McDonald wrote a formal response to Spence's published misinformation. Dr. Spence is working on medications to thin the luminal lining of the carotid artery...he has a drug to reduce homocysteine levels in the blood currently in production. He is a pharma spokesman, and is creating as much confusion as he can. It's all noise.
(ps...homocysteine can be reduced by cutting out red meat and adding L-arginine--as I learned in Dr. Cooke's book, The Cardiovascular Cure, but Dr. Spence would like you to take a pill for that.....)

Dr. Embry and Dr. McDonald can have at 'em. We've got our hands full in the US already :)
cheer