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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
MS treatment: Saskatchewan to fund clinical trials
REGINA -- Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says his government is willing to fund clinical trials of a controversial treatment for multiple sclerosis, calling the "liberation" procedure an "avenue of hope" for patients stricken with the debilitating disease.
"We know there's not unanimity amongst the various groups out there about this particular treatment," he said Tuesday, "but we know anecdotally, and to some extent empirically, that there's reason for hope here."
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Saskatchewan, with the highest rate of MS in the Canada, should be a leader in researching the possible treatment, Wall said. About 3,500 of the province's residents have the disease.
Wall said he plans to raise the issue at next week's Council of the Federation meeting with other provincial and territorial leaders.
But, he said, the province is willing to come up with funding "even if it means we're going it alone in Canada."
A successful proposal could lead to clinical trials of the liberation procedure as early as 2011, he said, while also stressing that the government will take its cues from the research community.
For now, Manitoba will wait and watch. "We don't want to jump into this haphazardly," the provincial MS Clinic said on its website earlier this year. "As hard as it is to hear right now, the best approach is to wait to see how things progress."
The Manitoba Division of the MS Society agrees, citing an "ethical and moral duty" to its members. Health Minister Theresa Oswald also said the decision to stay out of the research is more caution than cash.
"This is an untested theory that is being explored. It may turn out to be a very important one, and it may not," said Oswald, who called it "critically important" that Manitoba stay at the forefront of MS treatment.
Liberation therapy is based on the theory of Italian neurologist Dr. Paolo Zamboni that a narrowing or blockage of veins in the neck which drain blood from the brain -- a medical condition known as anecdan or chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency -- may cause MS symptoms.
-- Postmedia News
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 28, 2010 B2
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