LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
- January 12, 2010
Dear Editor,
Each week I enjoy reading Dawn Johnson's view of the world. Her writing is most often well researched and informative. However, in her article of January 5th, she writes researchers have discovered a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. Unfortunately a cure for MS has not yet been discovered. Mrs. Johnson, I believe, is writing about the Liberation Treatment, an experimental treatment developed by Dr. Paulo Zamboni.
Dr. Zamboni's theory, as I understand it, is that people with Multiple Sclerosis have a condition called Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI). CCSVI refers to a narrowing or blockage of the primary veins draining blood from the brain to the heart. This narrowing restricts the normal outflow of blood from the brain. As a result, the blood often refluxes into the brain and the resulting flow and building pressure pushes blood into the tissue around vessels in the brain, resulting in toxic iron deposits that may trigger inflammation, injury to brain tissue, and cell death. Scientists have long known MS patients have increased amounts of iron in the brain compared to healthy people.
In his research, Dr. Zamboni used ultrasound to scan the heads and necks of over 500 MS patients. He found CCSVI in almost 100 per cent of these patients. Zamboni noticed iron deposits occurred around veins and surmised the iron accumulation was caused by a problem with drainage in the veins that flow from the brain. He also found that the severity of vein blockage corresponded to the severity of the patient's symptoms. Patients with only one vein blocked usually had milder forms of MS; those with two or more damaged veins had more severe MS.
Importantly, Dr. Zamboni considered what might happen if key veins of MS patients were unblocked and normal blood flow was restored. Hence the development of a treatment similar to heart angioplasty, The Liberation Treatment.
In the Liberation Treatment, veins that drain blood from the brain are unblocked by threading wires through them. When a narrowing is found, a balloon is inserted and inflated. The pressure of the balloon usually opens the narrowed vein. Preliminary results show patients had a decrease in the number of new MS attacks and a reduction in the number of brain lesions that define MS.
Dr. Zamboni emphasizes that the Liberation Treatment does not make people in wheelchairs walk again.
Rather, it seems to stop the development of further MS attacks, and in some cases, improves movement and decreases the debilitating fatigue common in MS. The Hilarescere Foundation that funds Zamboni's research says, "We don't say this is a cure for MS. We only say that research is advancing, and there is encouraging data but we are waiting for more conclusions."
In closing, research has made much progress towards finding a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. I hope Mrs. Johnson's words will soon ring true.
Yours truly,
Ken Carlson, Princeton
To The Editor;
Well, it seems that prorogue has become a household word since this particular federal government has been in power.
When I first heard that they were intending to do it again I thought it was just a cynical speculation. I didn't think that even Steven Harper would be so blatant. Next thing I knew, they had already done it! This time Mr. Harper didn't even bother to go to see our Governor General in person, he simply made a phone call.
I've listened carefully to the reasons why this action was taken and it all comes down to it being a sound political move. This is a one-issue government. Whenever questions are asked, the P.M. and his spokespeople all bring the conversation back to the economy. How they can brag about that is a mystery to me. They spent all the money that Paul Martin clawed away from the unemployed, and racked up a huge deficit. How is that managing the economy well? Even the economy might have become a problem for our Prime Minister. When Kevin Page, the Parliament's Independent Budget Officer, asked for records to enable him to audit the spending of the stimulus money, the government dumped 3 big boxes with 4,000 documents (paper) for him to go through. In this day and age this action is unconscionable and obviously designed to deflect and delay the outcome.
It seems that every time things get too hot for the P.M. he calls for time out. We may find him in Tim Horton's or at the Olympics but certainly not in the House, where he would be expected to answer some uncomfortable questions.
It's pretty obvious to most people that he wanted to shut down the inquiry regarding the torture of the Afghan detainees, and probably the Page inquiry. All committees have now been disbanded and when parliament sits again in March they will have to start from scratch with the selection of new members and a chair. All the government bills that are in the works are dead and will have to be reintroduced. But hey, there will be several more Tory senators that were appointed by Harper. When he was asked by Peter Mansbridge last week why he appointed senators when he said he would never do that he actually said that he had to do it because he couldn't get the legislation he wanted to be able to elect them.
It's up to us and the press to keep issues alive while the government officials are busy spinning a brand new fairy tale.
- Donna Stocker, Cawston
