Sunday, Aug 4

The Current Status of CCSVI Treatment

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Since the condition known as chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) was first described by Dr. Paolo Zamboni in 2008, the relationship between this condition and MS has been investigated and rigorously debated. Yet while Zamboni’s original study saw an over 90% correlation between MS and CCSVI, later studies have cast some doubt upon the linkage between impaired cerebrospinal blood drainage and MS.

But if Zamboni’s original theory was imperfect, does this mean that the endovascular treatment he proposed has no benefit? After all, there are countless stories of patients who have experienced substantial and sustained improvements (longer than 2 years) as a result of this treatment. We have treated several thousand such patients at our medical center, and the results have continued to amaze us. How do we make sense of this?

Based on the data collected through our extensive clinical experience and ongoing studies, we now believe that the benefits experienced by patients are derived not necessarily from improved cerebrospinal drainage but from stimulation of the autonomic nerve fibers surrounding the jugular vein. This stimulation seems to act to “reset” the autonomic nervous system, reducing the subset of autonomic symptoms experienced by most MS patients. These symptoms of autonomic dysfunction can include fatigue, sleep disturbances, altered cognitive function (brain fog), cold or heat intolerance, headaches, and bladder or bowel dysfunction. The vast majority of our patients (over 90%) have seen improvement in autonomic symptoms.

In addition, about half of our MS patients have seen motor improvement, including improved balance, walking, and reduced spasticity. Another third of our patients experience improvement in neurological symptoms including weakness, numbness, and visual changes.

We believe what distinguishes our approach to the treatment is that we consider the actual endovascular procedure to be just the beginning of a path to improved overall wellness. We counsel our patients in order to give them a road map to health, including lifestyle changes, and we encourage a long-term relationship with not only our medical team but with our community of patients. This ensures that patients stay on top of all the latest developments and updates from our team and from the greater MS community.

If you have any questions or would like more information on our treatment regimen, please give us a call at 949-221-0129 or fill out our contact form, and we will have somebody get right back to you.

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Dr. Arata is an accomplished physician internationally respected for his work in Interventional Medicine. He specializes in treating chronic venous obstruction and venous occlusive disease. His experience in this area spans for more than a decade, long before the discovery of CCSVI. He has performed thousands of central venograms and angioplasties for blocked veins for a variety of different diseases.