This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

from a slide from a presentation by Dr. Zamboni at ISNVD 2014, posted by Joan over at CCSVI Alliance facebook page

1. In healthy subjects, the IJV valve leaflets are ALWAYS mobile and open in up-right.
2. 62% of healthy controls with valve absence at least of one side suggests a progressive LOSS OF PHYLOGENETIC IMPORTANCE of such apparatus
3. BICUSPID is PREVALENT, MONOCUSPID is COMMON, TRICUSPID WAS NEVER FOUND
4. The ATRIAL CONTRACTION induces an aspirating effect which is the main mechanism of the BRIEF rhythmic leaflets closure. Respiration induces increased flow and the cusps are more saddled to the vein wall

I have to look up phylogenetic to make sure it means what I think it means.

Bicuspid is a valve with two leaflets; monocuspid is a valve with one leaflet; tricuspid would be a valve with three leaflets but this was not seen in the healthy controls they were looking at.

thanks for posting, cece. Sharon actually put that picture album up on our Alliance FB page, but I was in the room, and heard Dr. Zamboni's presentation on valves...and was really intrigued by his findings.

I was surprised to learn that 62% of normals were missing at least one valve, as shown on ultrasound...and that it might be an evolutionalry process.
And that the leaflets are only briefly closed on atrial contraction--but the veins are normally wide open.

These results were different than the Fox/Diaconu study which found valves in the majority of IJVs--10 healthy controls, 10 with MS=40 IJVs on autopsy.
Results: Thirty-seven of 40 IJVs contained valves: 29 bicuspid, 6 tricuspid, and 2 unicuspid.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3678575/

the Fox/Diaconu paper explains it this way:

Autopsy studies revealed the presence of IJV valves in 93–100% of subjects (Table 3).6,8,15 Similarly, we identified bilateral valves in 17 of the cadavers examined and unilateral IJV valves in the remaining three. Ultrasound studies generally reveal a greater percentage of subjects without IJV valves compared to autopsy studies, but this is most likely due to the increased difficulty of visualizing the valves with ultrasound.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3678575/

So--as many of the IRs have said--the closure and blockage of the vein by those pesky valves may well be a huge part of the problem for people with CCSVI. And the fact that normals' valves seem to "disappear" on ultrasound scans may be further proof of this fact.
cheer