(Press-News.org) Researchers who investigated the connection between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (a reported condition characterized as a blockage in the veins that drain blood from the brain and spinal cord and returns it to the heart) and multiple sclerosis indicate that a minimally invasive endovascular treatment for CCSVI, is safe and may produce "significant," short-term improvement in physical- and mental health-related quality of life in individuals with MS. These findings were presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 37th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.
An estimated 400,000 people in the United States with MS—generally thought of as an incurable, disabling neurologic disease—may find hope that symptom relief is possible. MS is typically treated with disease-modifying drugs, which modulate or suppress the immune response believed to be central in the progression of the disease.
"Traditional theories surrounding treatment for multiple sclerosis in large part focus on autoimmune causes for brain pathology and neurologic symptoms. Based on this, treatment has been predominantly medications by mouth or injection," stated Kenneth Mandato, M.D., an interventional radiologist at Albany Medical Center in Albany, N.Y. "Interventional radiologists, pioneers in the field of minimally invasive therapies, have been performing an endovascular therapy called angioplasty for years, to treat blocked or narrowed arteries and veins. We have been using angioplasty to open jugular and azygos veins in the neck and chest respectively to improve blood flow in people with MS. On follow-up, we have seen many of these individuals report significant symptom relief," he added.
Classifications within a diagnosis of MS include primary progressive, which means a gradually progressive disease without remission; relapsing remitting, which demonstrates acute attacks with intervals of slow improvements in symptoms; secondary progressive, where a disease that was once relapsing remitting is now slowly progressing. MS subtypes within the Albany study group included 96 individuals with relapsing remitting, 66 with secondary progressive and 30 with primary progressive. The study population included those who underwent angioplasty alone and three who underwent angioplasty with a stent (a tiny mesh tube used to hold the vessel open) placement.
"Results of the study were quite exciting and promising," stated Mandato. "We can attest to significant physical improvements reported in greater than 75 percent of those with relapsing remitting and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. Additionally, mental health scores improved in greater than 70 percent of individuals studied. People with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis showed statistically significant improvements in both physical and mental health scores at a rate of 59 percent and 50 percent, respectively," he added.
"During a four-month period, we treated 213 individuals. 192 of these patients (72 men, 141 women; average age 49 years) responded to a standard questionnaire that evaluated key quality of life components including changes in physical abilities, health perception, energy/fatigue, sexual function, emotional well-being, cognition and pain," explained Meridith J. Englander, M.D., also an interventional radiologist at Albany Medical Center and one of the study's co-authors. "We ultimately broke this data down into physical and mental health scores for each person, and found improvement in both components of quality of life," she added. "In addition, we found a trend that patients undergoing this treatment more than 10 years after diagnosis did not respond as well as those with a more recent diagnosis."
"To address the needs and concerns of those with MS who feel they cannot wait until definitive studies are completed, many doctors are currently offering treatments with the hope of helping individuals with hard-to-manage symptoms of MS," said Mandato. "Physicians who perform these treatments hope that this work will provide insights into the design of a prospective, randomized trial that is needed to rigorously evaluate the role of this treatment in MS," he added
"As we are still early in fully understanding the condition and its relation to treatment of CCSVI, it is our hope that future double-blinded prospective studies will be performed to further assess the durability of these results," said Mandato.
###
Interventional radiologists are vascular specialists who pioneered venous angioplasty and stenting and are highly qualified to perform such treatments when appropriately indicated. IR physicians have the expertise in the endovascular techniques central to this novel treatment. The Society of Interventional Radiology encourages and supports research protocols to evaluate the appropriate role of this therapy in the treatment of MS.
More information about the Society of Interventional Radiology, interventional radiologists and minimally invasive treatments can be found online at www.SIRweb.org.
Abstract 48: "Short-Term Outcomes After Endovascular Treatment for Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis," K.P. Sekhar, K. Mandato, W. Rucker, M. Chappidi, M. Englander, G. Siskin, Radiology, Albany Medical Center, Albany, N.Y. This abstract can be found online at www.JVIR.org.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, such as in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine.
Today, interventional oncology is a growing specialty area of interventional radiology. Interventional radiologists can deliver treatments for cancer directly to the tumor without significant side effects or damage to nearby normal tissue.
Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit www.SIRweb.org.
The Society of Interventional Radiology is holding its 37th Annual Scientific Meeting March 24-29 at Moscone Center, San Francisco, Calif. The theme of the meeting is "IR Evidence," chosen to reflect interventional radiology's gathering, presenting and discussing results of care-changing investigations.
END
Researchers report that performing angioplasty (a treatment that involves temporarily inserting and blowing up a tiny balloon inside a clogged artery to help widen it) on veins in the neck and chest is safe—and may be an effective way to treat the venous abnormalities found in those with multiple sclerosis and provide symptom relief. The findings were presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 37th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.
"Our results are important because there are an estimated 400,000 individuals affected by multiple sclerosis ...
New guidelines for CT-guided biopsies of lung nodules significantly reduce radiation exposure allowing individuals the benefit of the procedure, which may cut down on overall lung cancer deaths. This research is being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 37th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.
"The published early results of a trial using computed tomography to detect lung nodules demonstrated that screening with low-dose CT reduced mortality from lung cancer by 20 percent compared to screening with chest X-rays alone," said Jeremy Collins, ...
A burst aneurysm (a local area of bulge) in the abdominal aorta—the largest blood vessel in the body— is a deadly condition. In fact, about half of these patients don't make it to the hospital in time. Those who do more often than not face open surgery to repair the blood vessel. This study finds that a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment for ruptured aneurysms called endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is safer than open surgical repair and is associated with lower mortality rates, say researchers Society of Interventional Radiology's 37th Annual Scientific ...
KANSAS CITY, MO—Few molecules are more interesting than DNA—except of course RNA. After two decades of research, that "other macromolecule" is no longer considered a mere messenger between glamorous DNA and protein-synthesizing machines. We now know that RNA has been leading a secret life, regulating gene expression and partnering with proteins to form catalytic ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes.
One of those RNPs is telomerase, an enzyme that maintains chromosome integrity. In the March 25, 2012, advance online edition of Nature, researchers at the Stowers Institute ...
A genetic finding could help explain why influenza becomes a life-threating disease to some people while it has only mild effects in others. New research led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has identified for the first time a human gene that influences how we respond to influenza infection.
People who carry a particular variant of a gene called IFITM3 are significantly more likely to be hospitalised when they fall ill with influenza than those who carry other variants, the team found. This gene plays a critical role in protecting the body against infection with ...
The ripeness of fruit could determine how food-poisoning bacteria grow on them, according to scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin this week. Their work could lead to new strategies to improve food safety, bringing many health and economic benefits.
A wide range of fresh produce has been linked to outbreaks of Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica including melons, jalapeño and serrano peppers, basil, lettuce, horseradish sprouts and tomatoes. Researchers at Imperial College London are looking at how ...
Henderson Properties, a full service real estate company, last week, celebrated the opening of its Union County office in Indian Trail with a ribbon cutting and business networking event in conjunction with the Union County Chamber. The office, located at 4389 Indian Trail-Fairview Road, is the company's fourth branch location. Henderson Properties also has offices in South Charlotte, Lake Norman and Fort Mill.
The new office allows Henderson Properties real estate agents to better serve Union County residents.
In attendance was Kara Disotell, manager of Henderson ...
Wall Templeton & Haldrup, P. A. (www.WallTempleton.com), is pleased to announce Tommy Boger has joined the firm's Charleston office as an associate attorney. A graduate of Clemson University and the Charleston School of Law, Boger will focus his practice in the areas of complex litigation, construction, and commercial litigation.
Prior to attending law school, Boger worked in the mortgage industry as an online marketing manager and a loan consultant, originating residential mortgage loans in Columbia and Charleston, SC. He is a member of the South Carolina Bar and ...
Oral bacteria that escape into the bloodstream are able to cause blood clots and trigger life-threatening endocarditis. Further research could lead to new drugs to tackle infective heart disease, say scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin this week.
Streptococcus gordonii is a normal inhabitant of the mouth and contributes to plaque that forms on the surface of teeth. If these bacteria enter into the blood stream through bleeding gums they can start to wreak havoc by masquerading as human proteins.
Researchers ...
Viruses that can target and destroy bacteria have the potential to be an effective strategy for tackling hard-to-treat bacterial infections. The development of such novel therapies is being accelerated in response to growing antibiotic resistance, says Dr David Harper at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin.
Bacteriophages are viruses that can infect bacteria and multiply within them, breaking down the cell and destroying the bacteria - amplifying themselves in the process to deal with more bacteria. They are found everywhere including in ...
