Welcome to CCSVI Alliance!
Our aim is to provide patients, caregivers, and medical professionals with a definitive resource for learning more about CCSVI - the science, the process, and the patient experience. As more research emerges, replacing mysteries with data and speculations with fact, we will be here, objective and clear. Opening veins, opening minds. Let's get started!
Featured Content
- Read Angelo's newest Patient Perspective about his MS and CCSVI treatment
- Visit "Other Neurological Diseases" to learn about connections between CCSVI, blood flow, and other neurological diseases
- Visit "CCSVI Treatment Aftercare" to learn how to help yourself after treatment, including questions to ask beforehand
- Purchase CCSVI Alliance t-shirts and buttons to raise awareness of CCSVI
Joan Beal, CCSVI Alliance board member, interviews ISNVD 2014 Conference keynote speaker, Dr. Paula Grammas, PhD. Dr. Grammas is Professor of Neurology - Texas Tech University and Executive Director of the Garrison Institute on Aging. She was recently appointed Director of the Texas Alzheimer's Research Consortium. Joan talks with Dr. Grammas about her research into the role of blood vessels and inflammation in neurological disease.
Dr. Paolo Zamboni discusses his new pilot study which looks at perfusion changes in the multiple sclerosis (MS) brain prior to and after successful venoplasty for CCSVI, utilizing SPECT and PET scans. His team also compares cerebral perfusion in MS to normal controls. Recorded at the ISNVD 2014 Conference - San Francisco.
Find additional videos featuring Dr. Paolo Zamboni, Dr. Michael Dake, and others at the "Video Gallery". This gallery can be found under "The Basics" section and "CCSVI Multimedia," together with a selection of CCSVI photos at the "Photo Gallery."
Dr. Dake Looks Forward
During the 2014 VEITH Symposium Sharon Richardson, CCSVI Alliance President, interviewed Dr. Michael Dake. Dr. Dake discussed CCSVI and its future, including its potential impact on a broad range of neurological diseases. Dr. Dake also discussed the March 2015 ISNVD scientific conference.
During the 2014 VEITH Symposium Sharon Richardson, CCSVI Alliance President, interviewed Dr. Paolo Zamboni about his presentation. In the interview Dr. Zamboni discussed developments over the past five years in CCSVI, including patient selection and progress of his double blinded “Brave-Dreams” clinical trial. Dr. Zamboni also discussed NASA’s use of his “Drain Brain” neck collar in experiments being conducted on the International Space Station.
For more information, review ISNVD’s Position Paper on multimodal screening for detection of CCSVI and Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti’s reporting from the International Space Station on her use of Dr. Zamboni’s neck collar technology.
CCSVI Alliance Interviews Mr. Ray Crallé
Mr. Ray Crallé, nationally recognized physical therapist, covers the physiology and rehabilitation of two symptomatic challenges for people with MS – gait disturbance and balance. As CCSVI Alliance has noted in its Aftercare Section, physical activity is one of the long term strategies we suggest to maximize brain health. This recommendation has been confirmed by numerous research studies which validate that physical activity is good for the heart and the brain (Indiana University, BMC Neurology Journal, Physical Therapy). Ray Crallé, using therapy techniques developed by Margaret Rood and Sir Charles Sharrington, elicits responses through the nervous system versus concentrating on exercising muscles. In this interview, Mr Crallé discusses the physiology of spasticity and spastic plantar flexion (incorrectly termed foot drop in many MS patients), vestibular balance (which can have an effect on cerebral blood flow) and the bio-mechanics of gait disturbance. Before starting any type of new physical activity or therapy, please check with your healthcare provider.
Find additional videos at the "Video Gallery".