Madam Chair, for the past few weeks, the Subcommittee on Neurological Disease within the health committee has been hearing testimony from doctors and patients regarding the treatment of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, also known as CCSVI, as a method for treating multiple sclerosis.
According to a report from the MS Society of Canada, MS is a terrible disease that affects more than 50,000 Canadians. Currently, treatment for MS is largely drug-based and focuses on lessening the severity of symptoms. However, a new method, developed by Dr. Paolo Zamboni, has the potential to improve the lives of those suffering from MS.
In June 2009, Dr. Zamboni, an Italian doctor, published a finding about a possible link between vascular blockages in the veins responsible for draining blood from the brain and MS. He agrees that additional research is still needed, and so do we. It is evident that the research and testimony heard at committee amounts to a promising start. Just last week, the MS societies in North America announced the launch of CCSVI research project funding.
CCSVI is a disorder that causes blockages that reduce blood flow in the veins near the central nervous system.Canadians with MS are asking for the right to diagnosis and treatment. People not suffering from MS can gain access to both treatment and diagnosis for vascular blockages. Patients with MS are being discriminated against, because their vascular abnormalities occur in the brain, and they suffer from MS.
Canadians are currently looking outside of the country and are paying astronomical amounts of money to gain treatment in one of the 47 countries that recognize CCSVI. I have heard that the wait time to obtain this treatment in Poland is over three years and that a number of those on the waiting list are Canadian citizens.
Though research is not developed enough to conclude that CCSVI causes MS, the evidence of a connection between the two diagnoses is incredibly compelling. The procedure used to treat CCSVI, angioplasty, is not a new or experimental procedure. The procedure takes a matter of hours, and the patients are only under local anesthesia, making it fairly low risk.
It is also more cost-efficient than the drug treatments currently prescribed for MS patients. A witness in committee cited that in Canada, angioplasty costs only $1,500. The current costs to the health care system for medication for MS patients ranges from $25,000 to $40,000 a year. This does not take into account additional costs, such as assisted living services. If angioplasty as a treatment for CCSVI is successful, even in a few cases, the potential in savings for the health care system will be substantial, and MS sufferers may be well on the way to enjoying a better quality of life.
I was recently contacted by a woman suffering from MS who wanted to inform me of the continued injustices perpetrated against those with a diagnosis like hers. The test to diagnose CCSVI is a Doppler scan MRI, which was previously performed at the Montreal Neurological Hospital at the MS clinic. She called to inform me that there was a sign in the window of the clinic stating that they would no longer administer these tests, as directed by the college of physicians of Quebec. She has attempted to contact the hospital to hear their justification for the termination of the program but has received no response.
Why are we denying Canadian citizens the right to diagnosis? This is especially baffling to me, as the test used to diagnose CCSVI has been described as even less invasive than the procedure used to cure it. It is a scan, similar to an ultrasound. Dr. Sandy McDonald testified at committee that to the best of his knowledge, the test presents no risk.
Denying Canadians the right to determine whether they suffer from the disease seems especially extreme. I cannot fathom the cause behind this decision. Even if ties between MS and CCSVI are minimal, we are denying treatment to those suffering from CCSVI because they suffer from MS.
If it can be proven that patients have a vascular abnormality, why are highly trained doctors prohibited from fixing the diagnosed problem? If a patient has blocked veins, and treating this could improve blood flow, why should a doctor be prohibited from curing this disorder, even if it has little to no effect on MS?
Research into the ties between CCSVI and MS should be continued, buy why must research and treatment be mutually exclusive?
I hope to see research on this topic continue, but it is my sincere wish that the research subjects not be a few hand-picked individuals chosen because the symptoms of their MS meet specific criteria. Angioplasty is a low-risk procedure, when performed by an experienced hand, with a great deal of medical precedent. Rather, the treatment should be offered to all who are diagnosed with CCSVI, and research should be done on these cases.
The procedure has the potential to change the fate of those suffering from MS. Though the results are not yet conclusive, we as Canadians should not shy away from the potential of medical innovation. The point of medical research is to improve the quality of life for those who suffer from diseases. If this procedure is considered relatively safe, why should those suffering from MS now be forced to wait for additional tests if the new innovation could benefit them immediately?
I urge the government to support innovation in medicine and to make strides toward better treatment for those who suffer from MS.
MS affects patients in different ways, but for many, the future holds decreasing motor capabilities that will eventually lead to a wheelchair and the inability to perform basic daily tasks for themselves. Individuals who suffer from MS also have higher suicide rates than the rest of the population.
Though the procedure is not spoken of as a cure, the potential to give those suffering from MS a few healthy months or years should be held with high importance. By providing coverage to those seeking to determine whether they have CCSVI and to those looking to obtain the necessary procedure to cure it, there is the potential to improve thousands of Canadian lives.
The difficulties experienced by MS sufferers when attempting to obtain this treatment are especially troubling when one considers that Canadians have one of the world's highest rates of MS diagnosis. Every day, three more people in Canada are diagnosed with the disease. This is not an insignificant part of the population. This is a large group made up predominantly of women in their prime, whose lives and potential societal contributions are being stunted by this harrowing disease. If the potential to improve the lives of these individuals exists, assisting them in obtaining treatment is the responsible and compassionate thing to do.
I am sure that my colleague, the member for Burnaby—New Westminster, will make further comments on this issue a little later on, and I urge the chamber to support his motion, M-535, and to support medical research on the subject.
MS is a disease without a cure, and any reprieve from pain and suffering that can be gained through Dr. Zamboni's treatment is worth investigating. I look forward to hearing Dr. Zamboni's testimony in committee tomorrow. I hope that this chamber will grant sufferers of MS the ability to improve their quality of life.
I have been contacted by a number of my constituents, Lynn Gagnon in Elliot Lake, Dave McDowell in Elliot Lake, and Lisa in Manitowaning, Manitoulin Island, who have all indicated that any opportunity to try something that may assist them in relieving some of the symptoms or that may give them a better quality of life, whether it is for two months or two years or 10 years, is better than none, so they would appreciate the opportunity to be able to be part of the study and the treatment at the same time.