How was CCSVI discovered?
Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) is a condition that was discovered in 2010 by an Italian Vascular Surgeon named Paolo Zamboni. Dr. Zamboni found that in up to 91% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the veins that drain blood from the brain and spine were blocked. These blockages prevented normal blood flow out of the brain and spine, presumably causing an increase in venous pressure inside of the brain. (Click here for Full Text article)
Dr. Zamboni found in nearly 90% of patients with MS, the veins that drain blood from the brain and spine were blocked.
Dr. Mark Haacke, a Physicist in Detroit Michigan discovered years ago that there was an abnormal amount of iron buildup around MS lesions and the veins in patients with Multiple Sclerosis. In normal patients, abnormal iron buildup was not seen within the brain. Initially, the cause of this iron buildup was unknown.
However, when Dr. Zamboni discovered the high percentage of MS patients with blocked outflow veins from the brain, it was suggested that this might be the cause of the increased iron in the MS patients’ brains. It is suspected that with an increase in the venous pressure inside of the brain, that over time, iron leaks out of the veins, and into the normal tissues around MS lesions and the veins in MS patients.
How can CCSVI be treated?
Since the time CCSVI was first introduced, Synergy Health Concepts has been working with MS and CCSVI patients to help diagnose and treat this condition. Over the past 2 years, Synergy, along with the medical community, has seen a very high correlation between patients with MS and those with CCSVI. Although the causes of MS remain unclear, and treatments are often very complex, the treatment for CCSVI is more straightforward.
Synergy Health Concepts is currently enrolling and qualifying patients in the VERIFY MS study, which will compare venous blockages in MS patients, versus the non-MS population.
The treatment for CCSVI is focused on opening the veins that drain the brain and the spine. Treatment allows the blood to drain more easily and decreases the blood pressure within the veins in the brain. At Synergy, we have shown that many quality of life symptoms improve after treatment for CCSVI.
What are the symptoms of CCSVI?
The most common symptoms that we see associated with CCSVI are fatigue, brain fog, headaches, poor sleep, cold hands or feet, heat intolerance and bladder or bowel control. Our research has shown a moderate clinical improvement in these CCSVI symptoms.
The reason most MS patients suffer from these CCSVI symptoms and the correlation between MS and CCSVI is currently unknown. Synergy has also found that the denser motor and sensory symptoms of MS are less likely to improve after the CCSVI procedure.
How is CCSVI diagnosed?
CCSVI is a diagnosis that is made clinically for those MS patients who exhibit the symptoms described above. Diagnosis of CCSVI also requires the demonstration of blockages within the jugular or the azygos veins. This is often done with an MRV, or with an ultrasound. Patients with CCSVI symptoms, along with blockages seen on imaging, may benefit from treatment.