November 19, 2010 at 11:26am
from the V-Aware November issue.
Dr. Dake is the cardio-thoracic specialist I contacted with Dr. Zamboni's research in January 2009. He was our local doctor at Stanford University. The damage that Dr. Dake saw in Jeff's brain on MRI, and the damage he found in Jeff's jugular veins on MRV made sense to him. As a vascular doctor, he understands the correlation of venous drainage and disease.
Important Points to note in this article:
1. CCSVI resembles a known venous disease, superior vena cava syndrome. Symptoms related to this condition are similar to those in CCSVI. Relieving CCSVI via angioplasty produces similar results in angioplasty for superior vena cava occlusion.
2. CCSVI might account for the low flow states (hypoperfusion) found in pwMS.
3. Slowed blood flow changes the endothelial layer of blood vessels, allowing for a break in the blood brain barrier and immune cell penetration
4. Inflammation created by disturbed blood flow in CCSVI continues to damage the vein lining. Thus, CCSVI will progress with age of patient and length of disease.
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Here is Dr. Dake on CCSVI---
Evidence presented recently in the medical literature proposes that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a coexisting high frequency of obstruction to veins that drain the brain and spinal cord.
These data suggest that MS is associated with blockages in veins located in the neck or chest that alter cerebral venous hemodynamics, causing alterations in venous pressure and flow patterns. This venous obstruction is called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI).
