Brain Blood Flow Changes not Specific to MS
New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research, undertaken at the University of Rome in Italy, published in the journal Radiology (August 2012) has demonstrated that changes in brain blood flow associated with vein abnormalities are not specific to MS and do not contribute to its severity.
The role of brain blood flow alterations in MS patients has remained unclear, with controversy in recent years due to the reporting of a highly significant association between MS and chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), a term coined by an Italian researcher Paolo Zamboni in 2008.
The term, CCSVI, describes a condition characterized by compromised blood flow in the veins that drain blood from the brain/the central nervous system. Dr. Zamboni hypothesized that CCSVI played a role in the cause of MS as well.
This association has generated substantial interest from the scientific community, media, as well as people with MS, as it highlights a possibility that treatment to reverse this compromised blood flow could beneficially impact the MS condition.
A procedure, devised by Dr. Zamboni, known as liberation therapy, involves surgery to widen the narrowed veins in an attempt to improve blood flow. Unfortunately, to date, only anecdotal evidence has been provided both for and/or against the procedure. Only in a controlled research or clinical environment should its merits be assessed in order to ensure its safety and effectiveness as a treatment.
At the University of Rome, In order to understand this link better, MRI studies compared brain blood flow in 39 MS patients and 26 healthy control participants. Twenty-five of the MS patients and 14 of the healthy controls were diagnosed positive for CCSVI, based on imaging results. Further MRI techniques were used to assess blood flow in the brains of the study groups.
Patients positive for CCSVI (with and without MS) showed decreased brain blood flow and volume compared with their CCSVI negative counterparts. However, there was no correlation found between the MS condition and CCSVI, as no correlations were found between decreased flow and volume in the brain’s white matter (the myelin rich areas) or for severity of disability in MS patients.
The results suggest that CCSVI is not a condition correlated with MS, according to Dr. Marziali M.D., from the Department of Diagnostic Imaging at the University of Rome, but probably just an epiphenomenon—an accessory process occurring in the course of a disease that is not necessarily related to the disease. This determination is important as prior studies of the occurrence of CCSVI in MS patients have provided inconclusive results.
Results of the study were published online, August 21, in the journal Radiology. For further information, read the press release.