A well-publicized claim made in 2009 by Dr. Paulo Zamboni, a doctor in Italy, suggested that narrowing of veins called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) occurs frequently in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. Dr. Zamboni further proposed dilation of venous narrowing as a simple and cost-effective treatment for MS – an interesting claim that our local researchers couldn’t wait to test.

So, under the leadership of Dr. Anthony Traboulsee, associate professor of Neurology at UBC and director of the MS Clinic at UBC Hospital of Vancouver Coastal Health, MS doctors and researchers at VGH and UBC Hospital recently conducted a scientific study to test the validity of controversial treatment CCSVI. This local study was the first of its kind in the world to test Zamboni’s theory.

And the results? Dr. Traboulsee’s team, in collaboration with the University of Saskatchewan, discovered that venous narrowing is in fact not unique to people with MS; leaving the question surrounding the connection between venous narrowing and MS unknown. This study, that effectively debunked Zamboni’s theory, was published in the renowned UK medical journal The Lancet.

Funding for the study was provided by VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation and Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation, in addition to MS Society of Canada, Saskatchewan City Hospital Foundation and the Wolridge Foundation. But of course research requires more than funding – it needs people willing to come forward and join the studies. And for this reason we are extremely grateful to the MS patients, their families and friends in our community who have joined our study. We believe that it’s a testament to the confidence that people have in the care and research provided at VGH and UBC Hospital.

Interest in this controversial research has been immense. Details of this story have already been published by more than two-dozen credible news sources, including:

Theory that constricted neck veins cause MS debunked by UBC-led study – Vancouver Sun

MS not caused by narrowed neck veins, Canadian study finds – CTV British Columbia News

Canadian study debunks CCSVI: Narrowed neck veins found in people with and without MS – Macleans