Major gift to the New Hope for MS tour

This just gets better and better: Announcement in Facebook. First an SUV, now a travel trailer... Great work, Tim!  And there are many more announcements to come!  And thanks to all the caring donors.

New Hope for Multiple Sclerosis

Keeping watching the site http://www.newhopeforms.ca/... we are going to have lots of good news to share about sponsorships for this tour soon.  Tim is doing a great job!  This Canada-wide tour is sure to raise awareness about CCSVI and make it a lot harder to keep denying Canadian MSers access to a treatment that is showing great results for reducing MS symptoms... and maybe the progression of the disease.

On the CCSVI Tracking Website

A few interesting stats, in case you haven't been checking www.ccsvi-tracking.com lately or aren't sure how to get the most out of it:

1. There are results from 427 patients and 518 treatments on the graphs right now (ie, some patients have had more than one liberation treatment).
2. Of the patients reporting their results, 135 are Canadians.  There is only one Canadian reporting 10 months or more of results: that's me.
3. When you look at the time-line graphs for all patients, they are generally reporting continual improvement in most major symptoms except for the month 10 cohort, where there seems to be a spike in the symptoms.
4. For the Canadians, the average results show continuous improvements for all months except for a slight spike in the symptoms of the 8 month cohort.

Official Press Release from ISNVD Annual Meeting

This is very interesting reading: Press Release on Facebook. It's worth spending a few minutes reading it... great to think how far things have progressed in only one year!

Watch CTV Tonight

For folks in the Maritimes, you might want to watch CTV news tonight as there will be an interview with Tim Donovan who is organizing a "New Hope for Multiple Sclerosis" cross-Canada tour to raise awareness about CCSVI and it's treatment in Canada - or, rather, the lack of it.  A large group of volunteers (including me) are helping Tim with this.  Tim is getting lots of great sponsorships and we hope his tour will start in St. Johns in early May.  The website is still a work in progress, but I recommend that all Canadians interested in CCSVI check it out on a regular basis and, if appropriate, let the organizers know that you are willing to help: http://newhopeforms.ca/.

Liberated MSer gets follow-up in Maine

Here is a report from someone who talked to John, a New Brunswicker who had been liberated in Rhode Island and who was getting his follow-up done at EMMC in Bangor, Maine:

He went 2 weeks ago to the Maine Medical Center. In the beginning, John's left jugular was blocked 55%..now it is still clear; the right jugular was blocked 80%..now has restenosed to 85%. They did the color Doppler Ultrasound. They also picked up a growth in the thyroid..left side. He has an appointment with doctor to see what needs to be done with this. John had his procedure done in Rhode lsland on Nov 18-10. He is feeling quite a lot better, but feels that probably some symptoms he is still feeling could be caused by this growth in the thyroid. John highly recommends the Maine clinic, he said that Sandy-who provides information and Chris-who is the technician, are both very informative and pleasant people to be working with you.

Sounds like this may be a worthwhile place for Atlantic Canadians to go for follow-up.

Balloon venoplasty alleviates MS symptoms

A story about liberation treatments, many performed on Canadian MSers, in Florida: St. Petersburg Times story.

A neurologist wrote to his patient

In the TiMS discussion I mentioned in my last posting, Dr. Sclafani mentions that a Canadian neurologist wrote to his patients that were contemplating liberation:

"Since death is also a risk, then I ask those individuals to strongly consider advising their family of an advanced directive for an autopsy. We should maximize every learning opportunity"

and a Canadian TiMSer named Blaze responded with:

Outrageous! Statements like that and the way some Canadian neurologists are speaking to their patients makes me ashamed to call myself Canadian. But, I think Dr. Hubbard also said something about being embarrassed to call himself a neurologist right now. So, maybe it's the profession and not the country--except that neurologists are wielding too much power on this issue in Canada.

I feel the same way as Blaze, except I would have used some profanity to express my opinion about a neurologist like that!

Ensuring The Best Possible Care For MS Patients

An interesting initiative from the Ontario government: Ontario press release.  And here's a link to a TiMS discussion where people are expressing worries that this will just be another sham "expert panel": http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-15751.html.  There is also information about the panel and lots of angry words on the CCSVI Facebook discussion about the topic: Facebook discussion about Ontario press release.

Patent: SYSTEM FOR DIAGNOSING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Hmmm... looks like Zamboni is applying for a patent: http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?WO=2009107152