Petitions  They call on the Minister of Health of the Government of Canada to convene a meeting of the ministers of health of the provinces for the purpose of discussing allowing hospitals, private clinics and individual doctors to test for and treat CCSVI in all Canadians who so desire testing and treatment; and secondly, to plan and implement a nationwide clinical trial for the evaluation of venography and balloon venoplasty for the treatment of CCSVI in persons diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Petitions  The petition calls on the federal and provincial Ministers of Health to discuss allowing hospitals, private clinics and doctors to test for and treat CCSVI in all Canadians who desire testing and treatment. It also asks the federal and provincial Ministers of Health to plan and implement a nationwide clinical trial for the evaluation of venography and balloon venoplasty for the treatment of CCSVI in persons diagnosed with MS.

Petitions  The petition calls on the federal and provincial ministers of health and the Government of Canada to discuss allowing hospitals, private clinics, and individual doctors to test for and treat CCSVI for all Canadians who so desire testing and treatment, and to plan and implement a nationwide clinical trial for the evaluation of venography and balloon angioplasty for the treatment of CCSVI in persons diagnosed with MS.

Petitions  They call on the ministers of health of Canada and the provinces to get together to discuss allowing hospitals, private clinics and individual doctors to test for and treat CCSVI in all Canadians who desire testing and treatment and to plan and implement a nationwide clinical trial for the evaluation of venography and balloon venoplasty for the treatment of CCSVI in persons diagnosed with MS.

Petitions  They are calling on the Minister of Health to convene a meeting of ministers of health of the provinces and of the federal government to discuss allowing hospitals, private clinics and individual doctors to test for and treat CCSVI in all Canadians who so desire testing and treatment, and to plan and implement a nationwide clinical trial for the evaluation of venography and balloon venoplasty for the treatment of CCSVI in persons diagnosed with MS.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  In the meantime, CIHR and the MS Society of Canada are working together on a daily basis, and I urge researchers interested in better understanding the linkages between MS and CCSVI to apply for CIHR's funding opportunities. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  Very importantly, we found a significant decrease in the number of T2 lesions blindly measured by the means of MRI, and this also confirmed that this kind of treatment is protective for multiple sclerosis patients. My conclusions are that CCSVI exists and is a serious obstruction, a major vascular problem, whether a patient has multiple sclerosis or not. CCSVI is significantly related to multiple sclerosis patients at different latitudes and of different genetic background populations.

Multiple Sclerosis  Second, does the treatment stop MS over time? Third, how does the treatment of CCSVI affect iron deposits in the brain? A treatment for CCSVI requires vigorous testing and research to prove it is safe and beneficial for Canadians suffering with MS. I would ask the member, does he think that this is logical, or does the member disagree with the advice from UBC's MRI Research Centre?

Multiple Sclerosis  It is not like a new drug where we have to do a double-blinded study. We know that the procedure works to unplug these veins. We are saying that CCSVI is the illness and yes, people with MS seem to have that illness, but we should still be treating CCSVI. Maybe my colleague could speak a little more on the need to ensure that process takes place as soon as possible.

Multiple Sclerosis  It was interesting that in his letter he says that the decisions to deny this treatment have resulted primarily based on the advice of MS neurologists, which is very strange to me. Their position was that the relationship between MS and CCSVI must be fully researched and documented before CCSVI can be treated in people with MS. I wonder if the member is aware of whether neurologists have the requisite expertise to make that assessment and whether in fact they should be the authors of health care policy regarding CCSVI.

Multiple Sclerosis  They were the committee's first witnesses. The session dealt with issues that went beyond CCSVI. Then further sessions focused only on that aspect. For the past several weeks, several experts have testified, but people with MS have also delivered very emotional and hopeful testimony.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions here, both of which are about equal access to CCSVI treatment for Canadians living with multiple sclerosis. They are petitioners from Nova Scotia, Ontario, Newfoundland and New Brunswick. The petitioners are calling upon the federal government to take leadership on CCSVI.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  I would answer that in a different way. I think I have an ethical dilemma as a physician not to treat people with CCSVI. I think there is good anecdotal evidence to suggest that people with CCSVI do well with treatment. Again, as a vascular surgeon I do not treat MS; I treat CCSVI.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  We started doing them without being trained by Zamboni, and some people with MS had negative studies. We thought that not everybody with MS was going to have CCSVI. I don't know if everybody with MS has CCSVI or not, but when we restudied the patients we had initially done prior to our Zamboni training, they all came back with criteria that met Zamboni's diagnosis of CCSVI after we had been properly trained by Zamboni.

Subcommittee on Neurological Disease committee  I think it's also important to note that one of the leading MS centres in the United States, Stanford University, halted any further CCSVI treatment because of the unfortunate death of one patient as well as the heart attack of one of the other patients. This speaks to the importance of very careful, considered research, both at the basic and clinical level, to ensure the best for all individuals, patients, and families throughout Canada when there are new therapies such as CCSVI.