"One day  years ago after a long walk with his dog along the Hudson River in Manhattan Marc Stecker noticed he was limping. Not long after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Fast forward now and my entire right side is pretty much paralyzed and my left side is weakening Stecker says.  In CCSVI vascular changes  like stenosis narrowing or reflux in valves  can lead to reduced blood drainage from the brain.  Cleveland Clinic Center for Medical Art  PhotographyCleveland Clinic Center for Medical Art  Photography  Stecker is now confined to a wheelchair from where he writes a blog http about his disease called Wheelchair Kamikaze. More than a year ago Stecker started writing about a theory Italian physician Paolo Zamboni proposed in  called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency or CCSVI. Its been thought that multiple sclerosis is caused by a misguided immune system that attacks the nerves of the brain and spinal cord and can lead to muscle weakness paralysis and death. However Zamboni suggests that the disease instead is the result of blocked blood veins  leading to inflammation which in turn causes the immune system to attack nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Zamboni proposed that treating it may be as simple as opening them up. Stecker was hopeful. Because my disease is so aggressive I have been very willing to be equally aggressive in trying to combat it Stecker says. The Liberation Procedure To clear the veins his doctor tried opening them with a tiny balloon. Zamboni calls it the liberation procedure but it is actually a common technique known as angioplasty when its used to open clogged arteries  not veins. Article continues after this message from our sponsor A Brief History Of Multiple Sclerosis In  Augustus DEste http the grandson of Englands King George III began documenting his illness which would one day be identified as multiple sclerosis. Since DEstes day researchers have learned how to better treat the disease but have not yet found a cure. Here is a timeline of some key events along the way.  Scientists identify multiple sclerosis as a distinct condition.  Myelin http which insulates nerve fibers is discovered. In MS the body erodes the myelin which damages nerve fibers and interrupts brain signals.  Using a microscope James Dawson examines the brains of people who died from MS. He is able to describe in depth the damage done by the disease.  Researchers use a hormone typically made by the pituitary gland to treat the symptoms of MS.  The MRI is first used to help diagnose MS reducing diagnosis time from seven years to six months after the first symptom.  Doctors begin using a drug called Beta interferon b to reduce disease flareups.  Paolo Zamboni proposes httpjnnp.bmj.comcontent.full the theory Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency.  From the National Multiple Sclerosis Society http At first I was very skeptical. But anecdotal reports started coming through of almost miraculous results from it.So I decided you know hey it was worth a shot Stecker says. But it didnt work. Although the doctor who treated him in New York found a significant blockage he was unable to correct it Stecker says. Still some would say Stecker was lucky. Many desperate patients have spent their life savings flying overseas to have the procedure only to have it fail a few months later. Others elect to have tiny metal tubes known as stents placed in the veins to hold them open and have suffered serious complications including lifethreatening blood clots. Several patients have even died as a result. Stecker says if he had it to do over again he would have waited for more research. But he says he was eager to try something that offered him the first real glimmer of hope for a cure. CCSVI equals hope and a lot of MS patients just are completely devoid of hope Stecker says. People dont want to have MS. They want to go back to who they used to be. You know along comes this theory that offers an easytounderstand solution so its very very very seductive. Growing Public Controversy Its so seductive in fact that Canadians and Americans with MS have been flocking overseas to get the liberation procedure. Something that many researchers find very troubling. Robert Zivadinov of the Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center in New York says that not only is the procedure unsafe and costly to many patients it is impeding necessary research. Even if the treatment is not useful for patients with MS I dont think that we can abandon the idea of vascular involvement in MS Zivadinov says. And I think this merits very detailed understanding of what is going on. What is going on is still a bit of a mystery. Critics argue that although Zambonis original research suggests a vascular cause for MS other studies dont. These discrepancies and growing public controversy prompted the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in the U.S. and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada to take Zambonis claims seriously. They funded a number of independent studies to investigate the relationship between CCSVI and MS. Robert Fox a neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic currently oversees one of the studies funded by an MS Society grant. He says part of the confusion comes from variations in how CCSVI is measured. Thats absolutely one of the potential problems in the previous studies Are the techs who got negative results did they just not know how to do the ultrasound in the way that Dr. Zamboni described doing the ultrasound And thats a very important issue Fox says. Fox says he sent his technicians to a special training to learn how to properly measure the veins because its not something most technicians ever do. Bigger Than Multiple Sclerosis Meanwhile in Buffalo Zivadinov says his research on CCSVI already shows a clear picture emerging. CCSVI is not the cause of MS but might be a consequence or a contributing factor to progression and I think that has to be studied Zivadinov says. Studying how the vascular system is involved in neurologic disease is an entirely new concept Zivadinov says. One that may have an impact beyond any single disease. What professor Zamboni discovered in terms of veins is something much bigger than multiple sclerosis Zivadinov says. We need to understand the role of the venous system in the pathology of central nervous diseases and aging. Zamboni himself says that even if it turns out hes wrong coming to a greater understanding of the disease would be the big reward  both for him and thousands of MS patients."