OTTAWA – While joined by multiple sclerosis patients on Parliament Hill today, Liberal MPs reiterated their call for the Harper government to invest in MS research, diagnosis and treatment, and to immediately convene a meeting of provincial and territorial health ministers to discuss a national approach to funding MS and other diseases of the brain.

“We support the call by the MS Society of Canada and thousands of MS patients across the country who want the Harper government to provide $10 million for research into MS and its potential cause,” said Liberal Public Health Critic Dr. Kirsty Duncan. “We must also take action to help the families of these MS patients – which is why the Liberal Party is championing the need for a care agenda.”

Currently, between 55,000 and 75,000 Canadians are living with MS. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has committed to helping more Canadian families shoulder the burden of care by supporting families who want to care for their loved ones at home, which will help reduce costs in our health care system.

Dr. Duncan and Liberal Health Critic Dr. Carolyn Bennett wrote a letter to Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq on May 6 asking for her support to research a procedure known as 'liberation,' which may alleviate a potential cause of MS.  Minister Aglukkaq has yet to respond. Dr. Duncan has also called for an emergency debate in the House of Commons on this issue.  MS patients have organized numerous petitions calling on the government to fund liberation procedures, and hundreds of patients gathered for a rally on the Hill last month.

“Liberation treatment centres are popping up daily around the world, and Canada, with one of the highest rates of MS in the world, should be on board,” explained Dr. Duncan.  “MS patients and neurologists all agree that well-designed clinical trials must take place as soon as possible.”

Today is also ALS Awareness Day, which draws attention to another neurological disorder, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“Like ALS, multiple sclerosis has no cure,” said Dr. Bennett. “In the absence of help here in Canada, too many MS patients are forced to find their own way, leaving many seeking help to go overseas for private healthcare. What does this mean for a family who simply does not have the financial resources to do so? We believe that, just as heart patients are treated for blocked arteries, MS patients should also have access to this treatment.”

Dr. Duncan has taken the lead on the formation of a Parliamentary sub-committee dedicated to the examination of diseases of the brain.  Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has already committed to a National Brain Strategy to help lessen the social and economic impacts on people affected by brain conditions such as MS.

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Contact:

Office Dr. Kirsty Duncan, MP: 613-995-4702
Office of the Hon. Dr. Carolyn Bennett, MP: 613-995-9666
 

BACKGROUNDER 

•    Multiple Sclerosis is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system, which can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted.

•    Most MS patients experience muscle weakness in their extremities and difficulty with balance and coordination. In the worst cases, MS can produce partial or complete paralysis. Dizziness, speech impediments, and tremors are other frequent complaints, and about half of all people with MS experience cognitive impairments.

•    Canada has one of the highest rates of the disease in the world, with 55,000 to 75,000 Canadians living with MS. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the estimated annual total cost of MS to the Canadian economy is $1 billion, more than that devoted to all infectious diseases combined.

•    One hypothesis is that chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) could be the cause. It is a narrowing of the veins in the chest, neck and spine that does not allow for the efficient removal of blood from the brain. As a result, researchers believe, blood leaks into the brain, depositing iron, which triggers an immune response.

•    A procedure to treat MS patients known as ‘liberation’ is increasingly available overseas: for example, in Poland, Scotland and the United States. Recently, Kuwait became the first country in the world to offer the liberation procedure to all its MS patients who have blocked veins in their necks.

•    MS patients who have the liberation procedure, which opens up these narrowed veins, report an improvement in 'brain fuzziness' and circulation, and, over time, a marked improvement in the quality of life.

•    In Canada, five drug therapies are approved for the treatment of some forms of MS. The cost of these therapies range from about $20,000 to $40,000 per year per patient, and symptom management drugs can cost up to $10,000 per year.

•    Currently, Canadian doctors don’t scan MS patients for venous malformations, just as imaging would be used to detect blocked arteries in heart patients. 

•    It has been estimated a scan and liberation treatment in a public hospital setting would cost between $5,000 and $6,000. The hope is that once the vein is opened, it stays open.

•    Advances in treating diseases come only through clinical trials. Using cancer as an example, while only one percent of patients may be enrolled in a study, the remaining 99 percent are not denied treatment. Failure to diagnose and treat MS patients is discriminatory.

•    At present time, there is an urgent need for more research. Patients deserve to know whether malformations are present and whether they would be a candidate for the procedure.