Determining the relationship between CCSVI and MS

Posted June 11, 2010

Over $2.4 million (US $2.3 million) has been committed by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the National MS Society (USA) to support seven new research projects focusing on chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and its relationship to MS. 

UCalgary’s Dr. Fiona Costello a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute will receive close to $200,000 for her study.  Costello and her team are examining a cross-section of 120 people with MS compared to 60 healthy controls, seeking linkages between vein abnormalities and different aspects of MS activity and tissue damage.  Their results should provide insight into the significance of differences in vein drainage and the implications for the future treatment of MS.

“The data we obtain from our study will enhance our understanding about the role of
venous insufficiency and possible consequences of myelin loss, axonal damage, and
neuronal degeneration in MS.” says Costello

All research applications underwent a rigorous review by an international review panel that included experts from various disciplines including interventional radiology, vascular surgery and neurology. The MS Society of Canada and the U.S. National MS Society worked collaboratively to assemble the reviewers who considered scientific merit, feasibility of proposed research and the experience of the applicant teams.

“The MS Society of Canada is committed to funding strong science, backed by research goals that move us forward in our pursuit to end MS,” says Yves Savoie, president and CEO of the MS Society of Canada. “I am very pleased that grantees, their collaborators and their host institutions will help us play a part in better understanding CCSVI and its relationship to MS.” 
 
These new studies are necessary because we don’t yet know whether, or if so how, CCSVI contributes to MS disease activity.  They will achieve several important goals. First, the new studies will carry out significant steps needed to confirm the phenomenon originally described by Dr. Paolo Zamboni who reported abnormalities in the veins draining the brain and spinal cord in people with MS and resolve the questions raised by him and others as to whether CCSVI is a cause of MS or related to MS in some other manner.  Second, these studies will resolve conflicting data from previous research. Third, if blockages are found, the findings will speed the way to determining whether therapeutic trials to correct them will be helpful in improving or altering MS disease process.

The new projects take a comprehensive look at the structure and function of the veins draining the brain and spinal cord in people representing a spectrum of MS types, severities and durations, and compare them to structure and function of veins in people with other diseases and healthy volunteers. The studies incorporate accepted high standards of experimental blinding and controls designed to provide unbiased results.  They also use a variety of imaging technologies including the Doppler ultrasound technology originally used by Dr. Zamboni and his team.

Together, these studies aim to further understand the possible role of CCSVI in MS and identify optimal methods for screening for the condition, which would be necessary to determine the next steps required in advancing the CCSVI lead.  They will also be of value in designing protocols for possible therapeutic trials that might be independently undertaken in North America or overseas. 
 
The international review panel recommended studies they agreed combined the strongest science with the research goals necessary to most quickly determine the scope and meaning of reported abnormalities in blood drainage from the brain and spinal cord in MS.  The two-year grants will begin July 1, 2010.

The work of the researchers in these initial studies will not involve surgical treatment, but rather the investigation and determination of CCSVI’s prevalence in different circumstances.

Click here for information on the other MS projects funded by this grant


 To learn more on study recruitment at the Calgary site please call 403 944-2513