Opposition critics say the decision by the federal government not to fund Canada-wide clinical trials of a controversial multiple sclerosis treatment is a huge setback for the thousands of patients suffering from the debilitating neurological disorder.
“I think it’s devastating for MS patients,” said Liberal public health critic Kirsty Duncan. “This is a body-blow to a lot of people that think this treatment really works.”
Duncan said the hundreds of Canadians already travelling to get the surgical treatment in Bulgaria, Poland and India should be tracked to determine if the Italian-developed procedure works.
“If Canada wants to know if this works, why are we not tracking the patients that go overseas?” she said. “We have to have evidence-based medicine and we’re not collecting the evidence.”
On Wednesday, Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced the federal government has decided to accept the recommendations of its premier health research organization that there be no pan-Canadian clinical trials of the controversial new therapy because of the overwhelming lack of scientific evidence on the procedure’s safety.
“I feel the most prudent course of action at this time is to accept the recommendation of the country’s leading researchers,” Aglukkaq told a news conference in Ottawa.
Backed by experts from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the MS Society of Canada, she said the government would wait for the results of seven Canadian research projects looking into the efficacy of the so-called liberation treatment before clinical trials proceed.
The procedure, developed by Italian researcher Dr. Paolo Zamboni, involves using balloon angioplasty to inflate the veins in a patient’s neck to help blood flow from the brain to the heart. The theory is that the brain and spine can be damaged when blocked veins do not allow blood to freely flow.
Zamboni calls the condition chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI.
Speaking in Baddeck, N.S., from a party caucus meeting, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said he had spoken directly with Aglukkaq, and he was urging the government to sponsor clinical trials that would allow the controversial procedure to be tested.
“It’s not appropriate for a politician like me to pronounce which treatment’s going to work,” he said. “It’s for medicine, for scientists, assisted by the federal government to prove this thing up or down once and for all.”
Ignatieff said the Liberal party has for months supported clinical trials of the new treatment.
Saskatchewan Health Minister Don McMorris said Tuesday his provincial government still plans to fund clinical trials for the treatment.
Currently, very little research has been conducted into Dr. Zamboni’s work, but the MS Society of Canada and its U.S. counterpart are providing $2.4 million for diagnostic studies aimed at testing whether the theory behind the treatment is correct.
The studies, conducted over two years, will compare blood flow in the veins of healthy people to those with MS using several diagnostic tools, including ultrasound and MRIs.
Aglukkaq said if the studies show a clear link between Dr. Zamboni’s theory and MS, then pan-Canadian trials involving the surgical procedure will be started quickly.
Canadians have been travelling to countries where the procedure is performed and are returning with anecdotal reports of immediate results, such as restored warmth to their feet and hands, improved vision and decreased fatigue.
Duncan said the Liberals are asking that there be clinical trials with a treatment arm, to determine if the dramatic accounts of sudden improvement are the result of a placebo effect or if the surgery really works.
“These are desperate patients,” she said. “We need to be doing this here.”
Follow the money trail….It ends with the Greedy Corrupt Pharmaceautical Companies. They don’t want a simple cure !! And to the liberal party..don’t turn this into a political game.. In New Brunswick the provincial government is Liberal and they are not jumping at this. All politicians are these days are puppets for BIG PHARMA and other corporate interests !!
Please be aware that anyone leaving Canada to have the Liberation Treatment in other countries are being tracked at the border crossings! Border immigration asks why your leaving and the purpose of your travel! Also income tax returns submitted will show out of country angioplasty service performed! The Conservative Government knows the numbers!
It is easy to say “be prudent” and “wait for further studies” when you don’t actually have MS.
Those of us who lose ability each and every day do not see the need to wait intil existing imaging studies are completed before we ever start a treatment study. We will accept the minor, known risks for the potential benefit.
An MS Society which suppresses research of any kind is clearly NOT working in the interest of the people it purports to represent.
I have MS and look forward to a way to get this liberating treatment. My experience is that Canada is a very conservative country, slow and cautious to try new things. I can,t wait for my country to catch up to my needs. We need to find a way to deal with this in a more efficient and timely manner.