500 patients were "blinded" in a study. meaning the MD had no idea which patients had MS and which did not, so no one could cheat. And the results are.

http://www.mssociety.org.uk/news_eve...csvi_news.html

15 Apr 2011

Results from the biggest study yet into CCSVI suggest it does not cause MS, but may be a result of the condition.


Scientists at the University of Buffalo tested 499 people for CCSVI.

289 had MS, 163 were ‘healthy controls’ (no MS), 26 had other neurological conditions and 21 had clinically isolated syndrome (CIS).

The results, published in the academic journal ‘Neurology’ this week, found signs of CCSVI in:

• 56 % of people with MS
• 22% of ‘healthy controls’
• 42% of those with other conditions
• 38% of people with CIS

According to lead researcher Dr Robert Zivadinov: "While this may suggest an association between the MS and CCSVI, association does not imply causality."

The study was ‘blinded’, meaning those doing the tests did not know who had MS and who did not, so there was no chance that they could influence results in any way.

There are currently seven other studies underway investigating the association between MS and CCSVI.

maybe this would explain why so many folks had to have the procedure re done??? If they are thinking now that MS caused CCSVI and not the other way around, perhaps MS is the reason the veins keep re closing??

So many questions!

This makes more sense to me. I would be more inclined to believe that CCSVI can happen if you have MS or other CNS disorders, rather than having MS because of CCSVI.

Thanks for the heads up, Dej. Looking forward to further studies.

Thank you for the post Dej, very very interesting!

The results of this study are somewhat muddied by the fact that many of the "healthy controls" were first degree relatives of the people with MS.

The CCSVI diagnosis was also made by ultrasound only which is only valid to a point. The gold standard for CCSVI diagnosis is going in with a catheter.

There is however no denying that the CCSVI science is far from complete.