CCSVI and CCVBP

[blossom]

hi dr. flanagan, still no luck locally. will be in touch.
thought you and some of your followers might find this interesting.

Acta Neurol Scand. 1999 Aug;100(2):84-7.
Surgical outcome in patients with coexisting multiple sclerosis and spondylosis.
Young WF, Weaver M, Mishra B.
SourceDepartment of Neurosurgery, Temple University Multiple Sclerosis Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neuro-degenerative disease of unknown etiology which results in destruction of myelin. A variety of neurologic signs and symptoms are associated with MS and include myelopathy, extremity weakness, low back pain, sciatica and paresthesias. Many of these signs and symptoms are identical to those experienced by patients with spondylosis (e.g. spinal stenosis, disc herniations). The coexistence of MS with spondylosis can be problematic both for diagnosis and treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: During the period 1992 to 1996 we identified 7 patients with previously diagnosed MS who developed new syndromes which were thought to be related to a variety of degenerative spine conditions. The diagnosis of MS was based on standard clinical, immunological and neuroradiological criteria.

RESULTS: Five of 7 patients demonstrated significant improvement after surgery. One patient experienced a transient MS exacerbation after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS: From our series we concluded that surgery for degenerative spine conditions can be performed in a safe and effective manner in patients with coexisting multiple sclerosis.

PMID:10442447[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] MeSH Terms

[uprightdoc]

Hello Blossom,
That's a terrific study and it underscores your particular problem. You, and many other cases like yours, fall into the gray zone between spondylosis and MS. What's more, spondylosis and MS can coexist and spondylosis, such as degenerated discs affecting the limbs, can often be corrected surgically even if it doesn't totally cure the MS. The surgeon you found is excellent and has developed an innovative endoscopic procedure that is minimally invasive and very low risk. The problem is, he doesn's see the connection.

The link below is to an article about the strong similarity between cervical kyphosis and MS, as well as an innovative method to correct it. Cervical kyphosis is a reversal of the normal cervical curve.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/medicalprofs/ ... rmity.html

Aside from the similarity of signs and symptoms of spondylosis and kyphosis to MS, it is my contention that over many years spondylosis, scoliosis and stenosis can affect blood and CSF flow in the brain and cord. Chronic decreases in blood and CSF flow can lead to neurodegenerative processes and subsequent conditions such as MS.

[blossom]

dr. flanagan, i don't want to overstep someones experience so until they post i have a question. say your voice is impaired like very bad larengitis almost like you are struggling over every word. then you have stenosis in the low back corrected. and the voice is at least 60 per cent better. i have spoken to this person for a while now and heard her struggle for every word. but, to my ears of joy when i talked to her the other day i let her go on a while then asked if anyone mentioned her speech improvement they had. i felt so happy.

there has to be a connection.

[uprightdoc]

Blossom, The person of whom you speak that had stenosis in the lower spine and a change in voice sounds familiar. My guess is that there may have been some degree of cord tethering that pulled the brainstem down toward the foramen magnum thereby compressing the hypoglossal nerve into the hypoglossal canal. The hypoglossal nerve number 12 is the last and lowest cranial nerve. It is located inside the ring of the foramen magnum and is the motor nerve for the tongue. Irritation of the hypoglossal nerve can affect the mechanics and tone of the voice making it sound harsh. Stenois in the lower lumbar spine can affect foot and leg strength and thus gait. Bad discs and pinched nerves can also cause antalgic posture in which the patient leans away from the side of compression that causes pain. Degenerated discs can also cause compensatory changes in the normal shape of spine. In certain cases, chronic changes in gait, posture and curves in the spine, especially head tilts, can cause functional Chiari type displacement of the brainstem inside the cranial vault.

[uprightdoc]

Sharon Richardson of the CCSVI Alliance will be participating in the next study by Dr. Rosa. The study has been tentatively scheduled for July. The findings so far have been enlightening. What's even more interesting is the results Dr. Rosa has been getting. In addition to specific upper cervical x-rays, Dr. Rosa uses the upright MRI images to determine his vector for correction of the upper cervical spine.

[NZer1]

Just saw this on FB;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18356045
Neil O'Connell, from the Centre for Research and Rehabilitation at Brunel University and colleagues argue that cervical spine manipulation "may carry the potential for serious neurovascular complications".



Start Quote

"Cervical spine manipulation may carry the potential for serious neurovascular complications.”

They also say that studies "provide consistent evidence of an association between neurovascular injury and recent exposure to cervical manipulation."

Such injuries include tearing the lining of the vertebral artery, which is located in the neck and supplies blood to the brain, and stroke."

May be a case of what is the first injury and what is the treatment being blamed for?

Regards All, Nigel

[uprightdoc]

Nigel,
That's ancient medical propaganda and the article is misleading and false. I didn't cause a single death or stroke in my entire career, nor did wife or my sister-in-law, or my nephew who are also chiropractors. Furthermore, none of my colleagues that I knew during my career caused any deaths or strokes either.

Chiropractors have by far the safest track record of all the health care professions. Ask any medical liability insurance carrier for the facts. Medical liability insurance is very low for chiropractors compared to medical doctors. Millions of annual chiropractic adjustments done across the globe don't cause even one hundred or ten deaths per year. They don't even cause one. If they did it the main stream media would blast it all over the news. To get the facts and put things in proper perspective you might want to read the links below, as well as their sources and citations. Medical procedures are one of the leading causes of death in the USA.

http://www.whale.to/a/null9.html#Table_ ... tervention

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-0 ... caine.html

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... drugs.aspx

http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6101a3.htm

[NZer1]

Interesting reaction Dr. It seems to have gotten you neck out of joint!

I was meaning could this have some connection to the whiplash or stretch or other injuries people have and then they are blamed on Chiropractic or any type of Medical Specialist.
The point being that people are too quick to lay fault instead of assessing the cause of the resulting deficits.
It got my attention because of two things one that is a Vascular comment that linked neurological Symptoms and two, that CCSVI may have an accompanying artery issue to investigate.

Happy thoughts,
Nigel

[uprightdoc]

Nigel,
The topic is too lenghty and complex to go into here. I go into strokes in my next book which is about migraines and chronic ischemia. There are certainly high risk cases with preexisting conditions that are subject to strokes of the vertebral arteries that chiropractors need to be aware of. The high risk cases tend to be females. Risk factors include: young, overweight, hypertensive, smoker and birth control pills among other things. Beauty Parlour Syndrome is a term used to describe strokes that occur from tilting the head backwards. In rare cases females would have strokes while getting their hair washed with the back of the neck pressed against a hard sink, which can compress the suboccipital cavernous sinus and vertebral arteries. In rare cases turning or tilting the head for prolonged periods such as lying on your stomach or gazing upwards. Strokes caused by chiropractors are extremely rare. Most estimates are in the one per million or four million range. That's a lower risk then getting hit by lightening. It would be better if there were specific cases to discuss rather than generalities.

[coach]

think I may be the person blossom is is talking about. will post about quesions i have when i havwe more time.

[DrKoontzDC]

Good Evening Everyone,

I thought I'd poke my head in and say hello since I haven't come around in a while. I was thinking about everyone here and how things were progressing and I'm happy to still see some familiar names

I wanted to post a case regarding Chiari malformation and upper cervical care using the blair technique. I was going to post a picture but it seems attachments have been disabled since I last visited the forum. So for now I have hosted the x-ray on Flickr.

http://flic.kr/p/bWPCZB

This is a 24 y/o female who came in who had decompression surgery by removing the post arch to remove pressure. Most chiari patients have other anomalies since the condition is congenital, and the body tries to respond to it naturally.This patient checked off: Vertigo, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, immune deficiency, migraines and numbness in both hands. All conditions resolved or were significantly improved after she got adjusted.

I hope everyone is doing well!

[DrKoontzDC]

Sharon Richardson of the CCSVI Alliance will be participating in the next study by Dr. Rosa. The study has been tentatively scheduled for July. The findings so far have been enlightening. What's even more interesting is the results Dr. Rosa has been getting. In addition to specific upper cervical x-rays, Dr. Rosa uses the upright MRI images to determine his vector for correction of the upper cervical spine.

Uprightdoc - I also wanted to let you know that as of roughly 1 month ago I have started sending patients for 3D Cone Beam CT scans. The radiology center I am sending my patients to are using a machine from Planmeca.
http://www.planmeca.com/en/imaging/3d_i ... ca_proface

[uprightdoc]

Coach,
I knew you were the person Blossom was referring to. The footdrop, lumbar surgery and subsequent improvement in voice were clues.

[uprightdoc]

Dr. Koontz,
The Planmeca looks like a nice piece of equipment.

As an aside, all of the multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's cases I sent to Dr. Rosa's upright cine MRI studies so far have had Chiari 1 malformations and history of significant trauma. None were congenital.

[NZer1]

Hi Dr.s a question from a friend with Chiari who has had decompression and spine surgery to remove cyst at T5 I think. Allot of scar tissue developed at the T5 surgery which has now been removed including the titanium plates, removing a 'cyst' and that gave a brief period of symptom relief, but now back to pre-surgery unwellness.
What is Arachnoiditis and how is it related to Chiari?

Thanks Dr.s,
Nigel