Kirsty Duncan on Questions Passed as Orders for Return

With respect to the government’s position on chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI): (a) does the government track clinical trials on CCSVI currently being undertaken by other countries and, if yes, what are all clinical trials, identified by phase, currently being undertaken worldwide, (i) which countries are undertaking Phase lll trials; (b) does the government question whether CCSVI exists and, if yes, (i) why does the government not question whether treating CCSVI actually improves quality of life for Canadians with multiple sclerosis (MS); (c) how many cases of "major complications associated with venous angioplasty" have occurred in Canada and, if it is not possible to give this number, why, (i) what are identified complications to CCSVI and, for each complication, how many cases versus the number of procedures undertaken have occurred; (d) what are all procedures that have been performed on veins in Canada, including, procedures for Budd-Chiari syndrome and May-Thurner syndrome; (e) what is the government's position on ballooning veins and why does it consider that ballooning veins even once could be unsafe on fragile veins, even though participants involved in the proposed clinical trial will experience two procedures-one real, one simulated-in a one-year period; (f) is the government consulting with Canadians with MS, if so, (i) provide a list of all CCSVI groups the Minister of Health has met with along with the dates of the meetings, (ii) provide a list of all MS groups the Minister of Health has met with along with the dates of the meetings, (iii) provide the number of Canadians with MS the Minister of Health has met and the dates of all meetings, and if the government is not consulting, (iv) why not; (g) how does inviting the investigators of the seven MS-funded CCSVI studies to participate in the consensus workshop on ultrasound imaging meet CIHR's conflict of interest guidelines; (h) what were the results of the consensus workshop on ultrasound imaging, and specifically, (i) what exact imaging procedure will be used in the clinical trials, (ii) will the investigators use Dr Zamboni's procedure and, if so, will they be trained by Dr Zamboni, (iii) will the investigators use multi-modal imaging and, if so, what techniques, (iv) what training will investigators undergo, by whom, what is the number of procedures they will have to perform, and how will “sufficiently practiced” be ensured; (i) approximately how many Canadians with MS have died since November 2009, and by what EDSS score will Canadians with MS have worsened, on average by, since the same time period, and specifically, (i) how many are diagnosed each month, (ii) how many die each month; (j) when will patient accrual actually begin for clinical trials which were to begin on November 1st; and (k) what, if any, research or investment has been undertaken to consider whether to investigate the handling of the CCSVI file, particularly in relation to the “fast-tracking” of a new procedure in Canada, and the down-loading of services to provinces, (i) what are the dates, results and recommendations of any research, (ii) the dollar amount of any investment, (iii) if results and recommendations are available, will Health Canada be acting upon them and when?