MarkW wrote:The review is bad news for people in NL wanting CCSVI treatment. The Dutch government has produced a review which concludes they should not pay for it.
That sums it up precisely.
Here's a quote about the inclusion/exclusion criteria:
The only articles considered were those that provided facts
and figures on effects on the course of MS.
Studies that focussed on different outcome indicators, such as,
for example, safety and implementability, were not considered
because they would only be relevant to this report if there
were indications of favourable effects on the course of MS.
Anything less than comparative research was not considered
sufficient. In particular because this is a disease with widely
diverging symptoms and an unpredictable and variable course.
This is where it would help to have CCSVI accepted as a disorder of its own (or a syndrome of its own) and then be looking at the treatment outcome on the condition of CCSVI itself, not on the course of MS.