(Press-News.org) FAIRFAX, Va.—Evaluating patients with multiple sclerosis who have narrowed jugular and azygos veins—and the value of widening those veins with angioplasty—warrants careful, well-designed research, noted members of a Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation's Research Consensus Panel. And, the multidisciplinary panel indicated that while specific parameters for a large-scale, pivotal multicenter trial are not now available, that type of study is the "mandatory goal" in exploring a condition called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (or CCSVI).
"Much work needs to be done to better define, explore and prove the concept of vein obstruction playing a role in causing multiple sclerosis," said Gary P. Siskin, M.D., FSIR, one of the 12 research consensus panel members. The concept that a blockage in the veins that drains blood from the brain and spinal cord and returns it to the heart (CCSVI) might contribute to MS and its symptoms—and that widening those veins with angioplasty to improve blood flow may help lessen the severity of MS-related symptoms—are poorly understood, said Siskin, an interventional radiologist and chair of the radiology department at Albany Medical Center and the co-chair of the SIRF panel. "This is an entirely new approach to the treatment of patients with neurologic conditions, such as MS, and could be transformative for patients," noted Siskin. "Continued investigation is needed in this area. Researchers are clearly very early in their understanding of both the condition and the treatment," he added.
About 500,000 people in the United States have MS, generally thought of as an incurable, disabling neurologic disease¬ in which a person's body attacks its own cells. Currently, MS is treated with disease-modifying drugs, which modulate or suppress the immune response believed to be central in the progression of the disease, and these drugs carry significant risk. "The idea that there may be a venous component that causes some symptoms in patients with MS is a radical departure from current medical thinking. There is a healthy level of skepticism in both the neurology and interventional radiology communities about the condition, the treatment and the outcomes," said Gordon McLennan, M.D., FSIR, an interventional radiologist with the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, and chair of the SIR Foundation, which supported the project.
The special communication in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology noted that individuals with MS are seeking treatment for CCSVI "despite the still-limited available scientific evidence." Siskin explained that patients are learning about this therapy and the role of interventional radiology in venous angioplasty through the Internet. "Individuals are discussing it among themselves—through blogs and social networking sites—and then turning to interventional radiologists for this minimally invasive treatment," said Siskin.
To address the needs and concerns of MS patients who feel they cannot wait until definitive studies are completed, many doctors are currently offering endovascular therapy (or angioplasty, the nonsurgical procedure of threading a thin tube into a vein or artery to open blocked or narrowed blood vessels) to patients with MS. These treatments are provided with the hope of helping MS patients who suffer from intractable symptoms, but it is hoped that this work will also provide insights that improve the design of peer-reviewed studies that clarify the role in MS of treating venous disease with angioplasty (and possible stent placement), noted "Development of a Research Agenda for Evaluation of Interventional Therapies for Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency: Proceedings From a Multidisciplinary Research Consensus Panel."
The panel recommended that safety and efficacy trials should be conducted in well-defined and potentially smaller controlled populations under institutional review board approval and supported continued basic science studies to better understand the relationship between closed veins and the subsequent contribution of CCSVI to patients with MS. Siskin himself released details of a study in March that found that angioplasty is safe and hoped that those results would encourage additional studies for its use as a treatment option for individuals with MS. The SIRF report concluded that if such additional studies confirm initial reports in favor of CCSVI diagnosis and treatment, then large-scale, pivotal multicenter trials must be developed.
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Research consensus panelists represented the fields of interventional radiology, imaging physics, surgery and neurology. Authors of "Development of a Research Agenda for Evaluation of Interventional Therapies for Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency" include Siskin, panel co-chair Ziv J Haskal, M.D., FSIR, and Walter Royal III, M.D., both University of Maryland, Baltimore; McLennan, Michael D. Dake, M.D., Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.; E. Mark Haacke, Ph.D., Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.; Sandy McDonald, M.D., Barrie Vascular Imaging, Barrie, Ontario, Canada; Suresh Vedantham, M.D., FSIR, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.; David Hubbard, M.D., and Heidi Sauder, Ph.D., both Applied fMRI Institute, San Diego, Calif.; Salvatore J.A. Sclafani, M.D., FSIR, Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.; and R. Torrance Andrews, M.D., FSIR, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, Wash.
For more information about the Society of Interventional Radiology and minimally invasive treatments, visit online at www.SIRweb.org. More information about the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation can be found online at www.SIRFoundation.org.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation
SIR Foundation is a scientific foundation dedicated to fostering research and education in interventional radiology for the purposes of advancing scientific knowledge, increasing the number of skilled investigators in interventional radiology and developing innovative therapies that lead to improved patient care and quality of life. Visit www.SIRFoundation.org.
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Access Legal, the consumer legal services provider, has announced it will be sponsoring motorcycle racer Leon Hunt in this season's Metzeler National Superstock Championship.
Access Legal will be backing the 22-year-old from Brighton in all 12 rounds of the series, which began at Easter, at Brands Hatch. This is the first time that Access Legal has sponsored a rider.
Leon is racing for Lincoln-based team AP Kawasaki in the Superstock 1000cc class, which supports the popular MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship. He will be riding a brand new Kawasaki ZX-10R. ...
Building upon previous efforts producing a high-quality de novo genome assemblies of deadly 2011 E. coli O104:H4 outbreak strain (http://www.genomics.cn/en/news_show.php?type=show&id=651), the BGI and their collaborators at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf have now released the first complete map of the genome and plasmids without any assembly gaps.
(genome publicly available at ftp://ftp.genomics.org.cn/pub/Ecoli_TY-2482/Escherichia_coli_TY-2482.chromosome.20110616.fa.gz
and plasmids at ftp://ftp.genomics.org.cn/pub/Ecoli_TY-2482/Escherichia_coli_TY-2482.plasmid.20110616.fa.gz)
BThis ...
Old trees must be protected to save the homes of more than 1,000 different bird and mammal species who nest, says a new study from the University of British Columbia. Most animals can't carve out their own tree holes and rely on holes already formed. The study found that outside of North America, most animals nest in tree holes formed by damage and decay, a process that can take several centuries.
The study, published this month in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, examined the holes birds and mammals were using for nesting around the world. The research ...
How researchers classify and quantify causes of death across a population has evolved in recent decades. In addition to long-recognized physiological causes such as heart attack and cancer, the role of behavioral factors—including smoking, dietary patterns and inactivity—began to be quantified in the 1990s. More recent research has begun to look at the contribution of social factors to U.S. mortality. In the first comprehensive analysis of such studies, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that poverty, low levels of education, poor ...
Northern Rock has reduced mortgage rates, making its range even more competitive. As well as reducing selected rates across its core mortgage range by up to 0.50%, it has improved its 2-Year Fixed rate deal available exclusively through Northern Rock's intermediary partners. The product is now available at 2.99% for those with a 30% deposit (70% LTV).
All of the remaining reduced deals are available to both purchase and remortgage customers, the latter benefiting from Northern Rock's usual incentive of a free basic valuation and free standard legal costs.
Northern ...
As everyone knows, the pharmaceutical industry is struggling to deal with bacteria that have become resistant to common antibiotics. Less well known is the similar struggle in agribusiness to deal with weeds that have become resistant to a herbicide that is widely used in farming practice.
The herbicide, first introduced in 1974, is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup products and also in herbicides produced by other manufacturers. The first case of glyphosate resistance was documented in 1997, and today more than 20 weed species globally are reported ...
Ever wonder why on earth you should pay good money to have your blog posts / web copy proofread? Unfortunately writers (yes, even good writers like you) write fast, especially if a deadline is looming. When you're in a hurry you make typos - we all do! In connection with the business copywriting and blogging side of Prompt Proofing, we have to research many specialized fields and I never cease to be surprised how many excellent writers make typos. These are well-educated literate people who are just in a hurry. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, instead of remembering ...
NEW YORK (June 16, 2011) -- As many as 15 percent of men have varicoceles, masses of enlarged and dilated veins in the testicles. There is new evidence that varicoceles, long known to be a cause of male infertility, interfere with the production of testosterone -- a crucial hormone to maintaining men's health.
There is good news too: Microsurgery can increase testosterone levels in these men. Results of new research by physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center are in a recent edition of BJU International.
"Varicoceles are a much ...
Washington, D.C.--On March 18, 2011, the MESSENGER spacecraft entered orbit around Mercury to become that planet's first orbiter. The spacecraft's instruments are making a complete reconnaissance of the planet's geochemistry, geophysics, geologic history, atmosphere, magnetosphere, and plasma environment. MESSENGER is providing a wealth of new information and some surprises. For instance, Mercury's surface composition differs from that expected for the innermost of the terrestrial planets, and Mercury's magnetic field has a north-south asymmetry that affects interaction ...
With the economic downturn still in effect, many air charter consumers are seeking low-cost options for private jet charter. Stratos Jet Charters, Inc., a worldwide air charter agency, warned private jet travelers today that some charter brokerages are offering reduced pricing on charter flights by engaging in unfair, deceptive business practices.
In a recent interview on air charter safety, Stratos Jet Charters' president and founder, Joel Thomas, spoke out against charter brokers that engage in illegal charter flight activity, highlighting the value of working with ...
