Priceless Relief
There are seventy-five thousand (75,000) Canadians who suffer from multiple sclerosis. Canada is sadly distinguished by having one of the highest rates of MS in the world. A puzzling statistic, and certainly nothing to boast of.
Any wonder that MS sufferers would give just about anything to be relieved of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, to be able to live a normal life, and anticipate a normal life expectancy? The dread diagnosis delivered, sufferers learned to live as best they can with that neural disorder. And then an Italian doctor - Dr. Paolo Zamboni - theorizing that MS is really a vascular disease, concerned over the effect it was having on his own wife, tried something different.
He felt that veins in the neck of MS patients were being clogged by an excess of iron, and named the phenomenon 'chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency': CCSVI. It is more popularly called "Liberation Therapy". He decided to attempt to clear the blockage to restore proper blood flow to the brain, as an experiment. And he found that it worked; there was relief from the symptoms for those of his patients who submitted to his procedure.
But the world of medical science is resistant to profound changes in direction to what has been assumed, until it has ironclad proof that a new direction and a new medical protocol is proven to be truly successful. Neurologists are accustomed to treating MS patients and utilizing coping strategems to try to stem the tide of physical deterioration. Canada does not recognize the procedure, although some provinces are open to research to prove or disprove its efficacy.
The MS Society itself is withholding judgement, and not forging ahead, urging its members to have patience. It is expensive to purchase pharmaceuticals to deal with the symptoms; they can range from $20,000 to $40,000 annually. Saskatchewan is the sole province thus far to allocate research funding into the new treatment. In the meantime, a steady stream of Canadians have been going abroad to receive treatment, in Poland, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bulgaria, Italy, Kuwait, Jordan, India, California - and the United States.
Most MS sufferers who have had the treatment report slight to marked amelioration of symptoms. For some people their symptoms have all but disappeared; for others after an initial lifting of the symptoms and a return to almost-normalcy, a slow return of the symptoms has developed. Now, another set-back has emerged, with another world first in the ongoing saga of MS and the controversial new treatment.
An Ontario man in his mid-30s has died from complications associated with the treatment. Further complicating an already-complex situation on which so many desperate people have pinned their hopes for the future.
| Visual Symptoms | |
| Symptom | Description |
| Optic Neuritis | Blurred vision, eye pain, loss of colour vision, blindness |
| Diplopia | Double Vision |
| Nystagmus | Jerky Eye Movements |
| Ocular Dysmetria | Constant under- or overshooting eye movements |
| Internuclear Ophthalmoplegia | Lack of coordination between the two eyes, nystagmus, diplopia |
| Movement and sound phosphenes | Flashing lights when moving eyes or in response to a sudden noise |
| Afferent Pupillary Defect | Abnormal pupil responses |
| Motor Symptoms | |
| Symptom | Description |
| Paresis, Monoparesis, Paraparesis, Hemiparesis, Quadraparesis | Muscle weakness - partial or mild paralysis |
| Plegia, Paraplegia, Hemiplegia, Tetraplegia, Quadraplegia | Paralysis - Total or near total loss of muscle strength |
| Spasticity | Loss of muscle tone causing stiffness, pain and restricting free movement of affected limbs |
| Dysarthria | Slurred speech and related speech problems |
| Muscle Atrophy | Wasting of muscles due to lack of use |
| Spasms, Cramps | Involuntary contraction of muscles |
| Hypotonia, Clonus | Problems with posture |
| Myoclonus, Myokymia | Jerking and twitching muscles, Tics |
| Restless Leg Syndrome | Involuntary Leg Movements, especially bothersome at night |
| Footdrop | Foot drags along floor during walking |
| Dysfunctional Reflexes | MSRs, Babinski's, Hoffman's, Chaddock's |
| Sensory Symptoms | |
| Symptom | Description |
| Paraesthesia | Partial numbness, tingling, buzzing and vibration sensations |
| Anaesthesia | Complete numbness/loss of sensation |
| Neuralgia, Neuropathic and Neurogenic pain | Pain without apparent cause, burning, itching and electrical shock sensations |
| L'Hermitte's | Electric shocks and buzzing sensations when moving head |
| Proprioceptive Dysfunction | Loss of awareness of location of body parts |
| Trigeminal Neuralgia | Facial pain |
| Coordination and Balance Symptoms | |
| Symptom | |
| Ataxia | Loss of coordination |
| Intention tremor | Shaking when performing fine movements |
| Dysmetria | Constant under- or overshooting limb movements |
| Vestibular Ataxia | Abnormal balance function in the inner ear |
| Vertigo | Nausea/vomitting/sensitivity to travel sickness from vestibular ataxia |
| Speech Ataxia | Problems coordinating speech, stuttering |
| Dystonia | Slow limb position feedback |
| Dysdiadochokinesia | Loss of ability to produce rapidly alternating movements, for example to move to a rhythm |
| Bowel, Bladder and Sexual Symptoms | |
| Symptom | Description |
| Frequent Micturation, Bladder Spasticity | Urinary urgency and incontinence |
| Flaccid Bladder, Detrusor-Sphincter Dyssynergia | Urinary hesitancy and retention |
| Erectile Dysfunction | Male and female impotence |
| Anorgasmy | Inability to achieve orgasm |
| Retrograde ejaculation | Ejaculating into the bladder |
| Frigidity | Inability to become sexually aroused |
| Constipation | Infrequent or irregular bowel movements |
| Fecal Urgency | Bowel urgency |
| Fecal Incontinence | Bowel incontinence |
| Cognitive Symptoms | |
| Symptom | Description |
| Depression | |
| Cognitive dysfunction | Short-term and long-term memory problems, forgetfulness, slow word recall |
| Dementia | |
| Mood swings, emotional lability, euphoria | |
| Bipolar syndrome | |
| Anxiety | |
| Aphasia, Dysphasia | Impairments to speech comprehension and production |
| Other Symptoms | |
| Symptom | Description |
| Fatigue | |
| Uhthoff's Symptom | Increase in severity of symptoms with heat |
| Gastroesophageal Reflux | Acid reflux |
| | Impaired sense of taste and smell |
| | Epileptic seizures |
| | Swallowing problems |
| | Respiratory problems |
| Sleeping Disorders | |
| | |
| | Inappropriately cold body parts |
| | Autonomic nervous system problems |
Any wonder that MS sufferers would give just about anything to be relieved of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, to be able to live a normal life, and anticipate a normal life expectancy? The dread diagnosis delivered, sufferers learned to live as best they can with that neural disorder. And then an Italian doctor - Dr. Paolo Zamboni - theorizing that MS is really a vascular disease, concerned over the effect it was having on his own wife, tried something different.
He felt that veins in the neck of MS patients were being clogged by an excess of iron, and named the phenomenon 'chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency': CCSVI. It is more popularly called "Liberation Therapy". He decided to attempt to clear the blockage to restore proper blood flow to the brain, as an experiment. And he found that it worked; there was relief from the symptoms for those of his patients who submitted to his procedure.
But the world of medical science is resistant to profound changes in direction to what has been assumed, until it has ironclad proof that a new direction and a new medical protocol is proven to be truly successful. Neurologists are accustomed to treating MS patients and utilizing coping strategems to try to stem the tide of physical deterioration. Canada does not recognize the procedure, although some provinces are open to research to prove or disprove its efficacy.
The MS Society itself is withholding judgement, and not forging ahead, urging its members to have patience. It is expensive to purchase pharmaceuticals to deal with the symptoms; they can range from $20,000 to $40,000 annually. Saskatchewan is the sole province thus far to allocate research funding into the new treatment. In the meantime, a steady stream of Canadians have been going abroad to receive treatment, in Poland, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bulgaria, Italy, Kuwait, Jordan, India, California - and the United States.
Most MS sufferers who have had the treatment report slight to marked amelioration of symptoms. For some people their symptoms have all but disappeared; for others after an initial lifting of the symptoms and a return to almost-normalcy, a slow return of the symptoms has developed. Now, another set-back has emerged, with another world first in the ongoing saga of MS and the controversial new treatment.
An Ontario man in his mid-30s has died from complications associated with the treatment. Further complicating an already-complex situation on which so many desperate people have pinned their hopes for the future.
Labels: Canada, Health, Human Relations
posted by Pieface @ 6:20 PM
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