An article in Daily Kos (August 2010) completely changed my life by introducing
Professor Zamboni’s idea that Multiple Sclerosis is a blood circulation
disorder. Using self help and alternative therapies to control and even heal the
disease based on his insight, I have decided against Balloon Angioplasty, his
recommended treatment which has had mixed results and is not without
complications. I have also developed a plausible theory of MS as a developmental disorder - “In Multiple
Sclerosis blood vessels "deformed" by childhood stress cannot accommodate the
blood flow. I believe the auto-immune idea is wrong, that it is a blood reflux
which injures the brain and spinal cord. The cause of the reflux may be
structural 1) CCSVI stenosis (as proposed by Professor Zamboni) and/or
cerebrospinal fluid pressure or 2) it may be a stress reaction to toxicity.”
Let's think through the various treatment options.
1) PALEO-MACROBIOTIC DIET;
As early as 1983 I read of a young man who had left his wheelchair behind thanks to a Gluten free, healthy
diet. (At the time I didn’t believe this could be true. Too bad for me.) Under the care of a gifted
Kinesiologist/Nutritionist I recovered fully in 1984-1985 thanks to just such a
diet. Dr. Terry Wahls’ video (TEDxIowaCity - Minding Your Mitochondria) shows
how she left her wheelchair through a similar diet treatment. I do not believe
she has a serious CCSVI condition which would necessitate angioplasty. Rather, I believe that life stress
and food intolerances triggered the onset of her disease and all the medical
treatment worsened her condition by poisoning her. And, further, she
is treating whatever CCSVI condition she may have by stimulating
blood/cerebrospinal blood circulation. How? By using an Electrical Muscle
Stimulator on her lower back muscles which in fact acts to stimulate her Bladder
meridians, hence blood/cerebrospinal fluid circulation. (See Acupuncture blog
entry. Before embarking on a potentially expensive, dangerous and
fruitless odyssey in search of Liberation Therapy, I would try the diet option
coupled with massage/energy therapies. Whatever the outcome, one will be better
off for it. Check out my paper on the Paleo-Macrobiotic Diet. I believe the
origin of injury in the Central Nervous System in MS is poor blood/cerebrospinal
fluid circulation. I believe poor diet alone can impede this circulation.(My main paper explains why.)
2) A NECK/UPPER BACK MASSAGE PUSHING BLOOD DOWN TOWARDS THE HEART WILL STOP AN ATTACK FOR ME.
3) A TENS ACUPRESSURE SELF TREATMENT WILL OPEN THE BLOOD FLOW AND STOP AN ATTACK.
(See Self Help Acupressure Blog Post)
4) Acupuncture, Kinesiology, Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Acupressure, Shiatsu Massage, Swimming will all enhance blood/cerebrospinal fluid flow through the brain.
5) SKELETAL MS: By this I refer to skeletal obstructions to blood and cerebro spinal fluid
free flow through the central nervous system. I highly recommend
eliminating this possibility before considering angioplasty. Getting an upright
MRI and X-rays and scans to determine the condition of the skeleton
may indicate that blood does not flow freely because of pressure ON the
vein rather than a blockage IN the vein. It may be easier and less expensive to
check out and treat CSF problems BEFORE angioplasty. See if such treatment
works. A practical and financial question which may be medically advantageous as
well. There have been patients who discovered after an ineffective angioplasty that their problem was actually
skeletal.
Below is a good description of the issue by upright doc CCSVI and CCVBP on the CCSVI thread of Thisisms.com
"The damage to the cartilage in your neck affects the mechanics of movement in
the cervical spine. More importantly, in your case the degenerated cartilage has
significantly compressed the spinal canal causing stenosis. The stenosis is
compressig the vertebral veins in the epidural space. The vertebral veins drain
the spinal cord. The cervical vertebral veins also drain the brain in the
upright position. Venous back pressure decrease perfusion pressure and and
consequently arterial blood flow to the cord. It's basic physics. Chronic
decreased arterial flow to any tissue, especially sensitive nerves like the
spinal cord can cause neurodegenerative conditions and subsequent
neurodegenerative cascades and conditions. The solution is to stop the process.
It is my opinion that increased pressure and venous pressure in the epidural
space also affects hydraulics in the spinal cord. The long motor tracts of the
cord are located on the ventral (front) side of the cord close to the
spondylosis in your case. I suspect that the spondylosis and stenosis in your
case... are affecting the long corticospinal
(pyramidal) tracts of the cord causing motor (muscle) weakness."
Another potential structural problem is the entrapment of a vein by a muscle which
closes off the blood flow. Surgery has successfully freed the vein as well as the blood flow.
"See Internal Jugular Vein Entrapment in a Multiple Sclerosis Patient
http://www.hindawi.com/crim/surgery/2012/293568/"
6) BE CREATIVE EVEN IF YOUR DOCTOR/CHIROPRACTOR ISN'T.. I am
going to try to get a massage therapist to think about massaging the blood from
the spine and the brain towards the heart. Perhaps an Acupuncturist can trigger a blocked valve to open in the
Jugular (and other) veins. Can a Chiropractor identify the veins leading from
the spine? Find a Therapist (Doctor?) to order an upright MRI to see if there
are skeletal obstructions of cerebrospinal fluid flow. Once the images in hand,
find a body worker who will work with you to find a solution., And
don’t freeze up like a hedge hog waiting for THE ANSWER. You yourself may find
the answer. Frequent massages, energy therapies as well as limbering exercises
will help overcome a natural (inimical) tendency to rigidity which is in itself “paralyzing”.
7) THE MEDICAL OPTION LIBERATION PROCEDURE
If one has a serious vein stenosis or blockage, Liberation Therapy may be the only solution. If one has tried the "alternative therapies" mentioned on my site and they don't work as they have
for me and Dr. Wahls (for example) one might well consider the medical option.
Dr. Zamboni’s "liberation procedure" treatment consists of threading a catheter through the affected vein
and opening it with a “balloon” . Initially the Internal Jugular Veins, the Vertebral Veins and the Chest Azygos vein were treated. Other veins leading from the spinal cord are now treated as well. Development of the
Intravenous Ultrasound has allowed Interventional Radiologists to see what is going on inside the vein, determine the appropriate size of the balloon to open the stenosed vein without scarring, and avoid various
complications. Stents have been inserted into veins which collapsed after being opened. (Dr. Sclafani believes the early 50% failure rate in the Jugular vein angioplasty occurred because the balloons were too small to
open the veins sufficiently.) However, if the balloon is too large it risks scarring the vein lining tissue (endothelium) which might lead to thrombosis – the vein being closed off entirely. .
While results have been promising, questions persist. Not all people exhibiting stenosis of the veins have MS, not all MS patients have stenosis (or CCSVI). The rate of Jugular vein
collapse after angioplasty is high and the use of stents is controversial.
Some patients enjoy spectacular recoveries after angioplasty, others see little
or no improvement.
Dr. Sclafani Answers Some Questions on the Thisisms.com website
under the CCSVI thread provides valuable information as well as case histories
he has treated.. He is fully aware of potential problems such as the risk of
restenosis and even thrombosis and has developed techniques to overcome them. He
has succeeded in transforming for the better the lives of many MS patients and is
understandably frustrated by the obstacles the Neurology and – lets call a spade
a spade- the Big Pharma lobbies have mounted against development of the
technique for MS patients. In consequence the FDA has created obstacles to the use of angioplasty
in treating MS patients which means that American health insurance companies won't pay for it. A common procedure
is being denied patients once they have been diagnosed with MS, (a good reason not to declare the diagnosis.) The procedure is being performed, but MS patients must pay for it themselves.
I’ll let Dr. Sclafani speak for himself
Quote by Dr. Sclafani from Sept 14, 2013 Thisisms.com
“I have been thinking sadly about the loss of the Albany trial. It was such a
heroic effort by one man to create a study that would prove whether treatment of CCSVI provided a treatment for MS.
The issues have been distorted to such a great degree that neurologists have elected to negate the entire
concept of CCSVI. the first issue is whether CCSVI causes MS. This issue is irrelevant to me at this point in time. This issue will take years to assess, evaluate, research and conclude….
We have allowed a suboptimal screening test (ultrasound-my note) to take center
stage while obvious venographic abnormalities are amply and routinely seen in
the peer reviewed literature. These venographic findings, reported in an
adequate number of studies, have been largely ignored. The limitations of
venography, inherent in a luminal imaging study of an intraluminal disease, only
emphasize the degree of significance of these abnormalities. When augmented by
an endoluminal imaging study such as intravascular ultrasound, the prevalence of
venous abnormalities in patients with MS cannot be rejected.
But proving this association is only of secondary importance. What
is most important is that some patients with venous outflow obstructions have
symptoms that improve after angioplasty, and at a higher rate than that
described for placebos in trials of medications and other therapies. This is the
most important thing that we have learned in three years.
It is with deep regret that the entire concept has been politicized, discredited,
misunderstood, denigrated, slandered and rejected out of hand. The techniques of
treatment, the reasons for recurrence, complications, and failure must be
understood in order to discover the role of venous outflow obstruction in
neurological conditions.. Why some patients get better must be discovered.
Failure to do so, would insult the good memory of Charcot and many others.
The issue here is not about MS, it is about whether venous outflow obstructions can result in neurological
symptoms. It is about whether opening venous outflow improves some clinical manifestations often seen in MS. We need to put MS on the back burner and focus on the symptoms.” End of quote
Where does this leave me? Late 2010 two Parisian
Angiologues determined that my Jugular and Vertebral veins are normal in the
Doppler Sonograms. A third Doctor refused to study the Azygos vein, saying that
if the Jugulars are normal, most likely the Azygos (chest) vein will be normal
as well. However, the non-invasive MRV and Doppler Sonograms are insufficient to
reveal abnormalities. One needs to undergo an invasive catheter venogram dye
procedure (although the Doppler is better than MRV imagery). At that time the
French didn’t do the Liberation Procedure and I decided against going to
Brussels to have it performed.
Why?
For starters I'm not convinced I have a stenosis. And even if I do,
the nervous system damage may be too old to permit recovery. (I began to limp 20
years ago. Can I seriously expect the myelin sheath to fully recover even if I
recover full blood flow?) Even if that is theoretically possible, I don't want
to take the risks.
Other factors in my decision. In the 1980's I fully
recovered nervous system damage using alternative therapies described on my
site. Why should I risk physical complications, expenses, and possible treatment
failure when I now know how to control the disease process? My
health is good, yes my right leg is stiff, the foot "drops" and I walk with a
cane and my right arm was handicapped by a serious shoulder injury but otherwise
I'm fine. Poor blood circulation on occasion damages my nervous system but I
should be able to control that to the end of my life now that I know what to do.
If I was younger and only recently afflicted, if the "alternative therapies"
mentioned on my site were unsuccessful, I might well consider the medical
option. (I do intend to obtain an upright MRI to ascertain the true condition of
my spine since I now believe my first major attack damaged the spinal cord (the
azygos vein?) ) Fortunately use of the IVUS (Intravenous Ultrasound) and other
improvements have drastically diminished risks so one can take greater
confidence in the procedure than was true three years ago.
And if one has a serious physical obstruction, angioplasty may be the best, in fact only,
solution. If one day my veins seem to shut down completely, I will be the first to seek out an experienced interventional radiologist.
Tags: Multiple Sclerosis, Skeletal MS, CCSVI, Angioplasty, Diet, Chiropractic, Upright MRI,
Professor Zamboni’s idea that Multiple Sclerosis is a blood circulation
disorder. Using self help and alternative therapies to control and even heal the
disease based on his insight, I have decided against Balloon Angioplasty, his
recommended treatment which has had mixed results and is not without
complications. I have also developed a plausible theory of MS as a developmental disorder - “In Multiple
Sclerosis blood vessels "deformed" by childhood stress cannot accommodate the
blood flow. I believe the auto-immune idea is wrong, that it is a blood reflux
which injures the brain and spinal cord. The cause of the reflux may be
structural 1) CCSVI stenosis (as proposed by Professor Zamboni) and/or
cerebrospinal fluid pressure or 2) it may be a stress reaction to toxicity.”
Let's think through the various treatment options.
1) PALEO-MACROBIOTIC DIET;
As early as 1983 I read of a young man who had left his wheelchair behind thanks to a Gluten free, healthy
diet. (At the time I didn’t believe this could be true. Too bad for me.) Under the care of a gifted
Kinesiologist/Nutritionist I recovered fully in 1984-1985 thanks to just such a
diet. Dr. Terry Wahls’ video (TEDxIowaCity - Minding Your Mitochondria) shows
how she left her wheelchair through a similar diet treatment. I do not believe
she has a serious CCSVI condition which would necessitate angioplasty. Rather, I believe that life stress
and food intolerances triggered the onset of her disease and all the medical
treatment worsened her condition by poisoning her. And, further, she
is treating whatever CCSVI condition she may have by stimulating
blood/cerebrospinal blood circulation. How? By using an Electrical Muscle
Stimulator on her lower back muscles which in fact acts to stimulate her Bladder
meridians, hence blood/cerebrospinal fluid circulation. (See Acupuncture blog
entry. Before embarking on a potentially expensive, dangerous and
fruitless odyssey in search of Liberation Therapy, I would try the diet option
coupled with massage/energy therapies. Whatever the outcome, one will be better
off for it. Check out my paper on the Paleo-Macrobiotic Diet. I believe the
origin of injury in the Central Nervous System in MS is poor blood/cerebrospinal
fluid circulation. I believe poor diet alone can impede this circulation.(My main paper explains why.)
2) A NECK/UPPER BACK MASSAGE PUSHING BLOOD DOWN TOWARDS THE HEART WILL STOP AN ATTACK FOR ME.
3) A TENS ACUPRESSURE SELF TREATMENT WILL OPEN THE BLOOD FLOW AND STOP AN ATTACK.
(See Self Help Acupressure Blog Post)
4) Acupuncture, Kinesiology, Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Acupressure, Shiatsu Massage, Swimming will all enhance blood/cerebrospinal fluid flow through the brain.
5) SKELETAL MS: By this I refer to skeletal obstructions to blood and cerebro spinal fluid
free flow through the central nervous system. I highly recommend
eliminating this possibility before considering angioplasty. Getting an upright
MRI and X-rays and scans to determine the condition of the skeleton
may indicate that blood does not flow freely because of pressure ON the
vein rather than a blockage IN the vein. It may be easier and less expensive to
check out and treat CSF problems BEFORE angioplasty. See if such treatment
works. A practical and financial question which may be medically advantageous as
well. There have been patients who discovered after an ineffective angioplasty that their problem was actually
skeletal.
Below is a good description of the issue by upright doc CCSVI and CCVBP on the CCSVI thread of Thisisms.com
"The damage to the cartilage in your neck affects the mechanics of movement in
the cervical spine. More importantly, in your case the degenerated cartilage has
significantly compressed the spinal canal causing stenosis. The stenosis is
compressig the vertebral veins in the epidural space. The vertebral veins drain
the spinal cord. The cervical vertebral veins also drain the brain in the
upright position. Venous back pressure decrease perfusion pressure and and
consequently arterial blood flow to the cord. It's basic physics. Chronic
decreased arterial flow to any tissue, especially sensitive nerves like the
spinal cord can cause neurodegenerative conditions and subsequent
neurodegenerative cascades and conditions. The solution is to stop the process.
It is my opinion that increased pressure and venous pressure in the epidural
space also affects hydraulics in the spinal cord. The long motor tracts of the
cord are located on the ventral (front) side of the cord close to the
spondylosis in your case. I suspect that the spondylosis and stenosis in your
case... are affecting the long corticospinal
(pyramidal) tracts of the cord causing motor (muscle) weakness."
Another potential structural problem is the entrapment of a vein by a muscle which
closes off the blood flow. Surgery has successfully freed the vein as well as the blood flow.
"See Internal Jugular Vein Entrapment in a Multiple Sclerosis Patient
http://www.hindawi.com/crim/surgery/2012/293568/"
6) BE CREATIVE EVEN IF YOUR DOCTOR/CHIROPRACTOR ISN'T.. I am
going to try to get a massage therapist to think about massaging the blood from
the spine and the brain towards the heart. Perhaps an Acupuncturist can trigger a blocked valve to open in the
Jugular (and other) veins. Can a Chiropractor identify the veins leading from
the spine? Find a Therapist (Doctor?) to order an upright MRI to see if there
are skeletal obstructions of cerebrospinal fluid flow. Once the images in hand,
find a body worker who will work with you to find a solution., And
don’t freeze up like a hedge hog waiting for THE ANSWER. You yourself may find
the answer. Frequent massages, energy therapies as well as limbering exercises
will help overcome a natural (inimical) tendency to rigidity which is in itself “paralyzing”.
7) THE MEDICAL OPTION LIBERATION PROCEDURE
If one has a serious vein stenosis or blockage, Liberation Therapy may be the only solution. If one has tried the "alternative therapies" mentioned on my site and they don't work as they have
for me and Dr. Wahls (for example) one might well consider the medical option.
Dr. Zamboni’s "liberation procedure" treatment consists of threading a catheter through the affected vein
and opening it with a “balloon” . Initially the Internal Jugular Veins, the Vertebral Veins and the Chest Azygos vein were treated. Other veins leading from the spinal cord are now treated as well. Development of the
Intravenous Ultrasound has allowed Interventional Radiologists to see what is going on inside the vein, determine the appropriate size of the balloon to open the stenosed vein without scarring, and avoid various
complications. Stents have been inserted into veins which collapsed after being opened. (Dr. Sclafani believes the early 50% failure rate in the Jugular vein angioplasty occurred because the balloons were too small to
open the veins sufficiently.) However, if the balloon is too large it risks scarring the vein lining tissue (endothelium) which might lead to thrombosis – the vein being closed off entirely. .
While results have been promising, questions persist. Not all people exhibiting stenosis of the veins have MS, not all MS patients have stenosis (or CCSVI). The rate of Jugular vein
collapse after angioplasty is high and the use of stents is controversial.
Some patients enjoy spectacular recoveries after angioplasty, others see little
or no improvement.
Dr. Sclafani Answers Some Questions on the Thisisms.com website
under the CCSVI thread provides valuable information as well as case histories
he has treated.. He is fully aware of potential problems such as the risk of
restenosis and even thrombosis and has developed techniques to overcome them. He
has succeeded in transforming for the better the lives of many MS patients and is
understandably frustrated by the obstacles the Neurology and – lets call a spade
a spade- the Big Pharma lobbies have mounted against development of the
technique for MS patients. In consequence the FDA has created obstacles to the use of angioplasty
in treating MS patients which means that American health insurance companies won't pay for it. A common procedure
is being denied patients once they have been diagnosed with MS, (a good reason not to declare the diagnosis.) The procedure is being performed, but MS patients must pay for it themselves.
I’ll let Dr. Sclafani speak for himself
Quote by Dr. Sclafani from Sept 14, 2013 Thisisms.com
“I have been thinking sadly about the loss of the Albany trial. It was such a
heroic effort by one man to create a study that would prove whether treatment of CCSVI provided a treatment for MS.
The issues have been distorted to such a great degree that neurologists have elected to negate the entire
concept of CCSVI. the first issue is whether CCSVI causes MS. This issue is irrelevant to me at this point in time. This issue will take years to assess, evaluate, research and conclude….
We have allowed a suboptimal screening test (ultrasound-my note) to take center
stage while obvious venographic abnormalities are amply and routinely seen in
the peer reviewed literature. These venographic findings, reported in an
adequate number of studies, have been largely ignored. The limitations of
venography, inherent in a luminal imaging study of an intraluminal disease, only
emphasize the degree of significance of these abnormalities. When augmented by
an endoluminal imaging study such as intravascular ultrasound, the prevalence of
venous abnormalities in patients with MS cannot be rejected.
But proving this association is only of secondary importance. What
is most important is that some patients with venous outflow obstructions have
symptoms that improve after angioplasty, and at a higher rate than that
described for placebos in trials of medications and other therapies. This is the
most important thing that we have learned in three years.
It is with deep regret that the entire concept has been politicized, discredited,
misunderstood, denigrated, slandered and rejected out of hand. The techniques of
treatment, the reasons for recurrence, complications, and failure must be
understood in order to discover the role of venous outflow obstruction in
neurological conditions.. Why some patients get better must be discovered.
Failure to do so, would insult the good memory of Charcot and many others.
The issue here is not about MS, it is about whether venous outflow obstructions can result in neurological
symptoms. It is about whether opening venous outflow improves some clinical manifestations often seen in MS. We need to put MS on the back burner and focus on the symptoms.” End of quote
Where does this leave me? Late 2010 two Parisian
Angiologues determined that my Jugular and Vertebral veins are normal in the
Doppler Sonograms. A third Doctor refused to study the Azygos vein, saying that
if the Jugulars are normal, most likely the Azygos (chest) vein will be normal
as well. However, the non-invasive MRV and Doppler Sonograms are insufficient to
reveal abnormalities. One needs to undergo an invasive catheter venogram dye
procedure (although the Doppler is better than MRV imagery). At that time the
French didn’t do the Liberation Procedure and I decided against going to
Brussels to have it performed.
Why?
For starters I'm not convinced I have a stenosis. And even if I do,
the nervous system damage may be too old to permit recovery. (I began to limp 20
years ago. Can I seriously expect the myelin sheath to fully recover even if I
recover full blood flow?) Even if that is theoretically possible, I don't want
to take the risks.
Other factors in my decision. In the 1980's I fully
recovered nervous system damage using alternative therapies described on my
site. Why should I risk physical complications, expenses, and possible treatment
failure when I now know how to control the disease process? My
health is good, yes my right leg is stiff, the foot "drops" and I walk with a
cane and my right arm was handicapped by a serious shoulder injury but otherwise
I'm fine. Poor blood circulation on occasion damages my nervous system but I
should be able to control that to the end of my life now that I know what to do.
If I was younger and only recently afflicted, if the "alternative therapies"
mentioned on my site were unsuccessful, I might well consider the medical
option. (I do intend to obtain an upright MRI to ascertain the true condition of
my spine since I now believe my first major attack damaged the spinal cord (the
azygos vein?) ) Fortunately use of the IVUS (Intravenous Ultrasound) and other
improvements have drastically diminished risks so one can take greater
confidence in the procedure than was true three years ago.
And if one has a serious physical obstruction, angioplasty may be the best, in fact only,
solution. If one day my veins seem to shut down completely, I will be the first to seek out an experienced interventional radiologist.
Tags: Multiple Sclerosis, Skeletal MS, CCSVI, Angioplasty, Diet, Chiropractic, Upright MRI,
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