Newsletter May 2010

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Happy May Day! This month we celebrate Mother’s Day, Victoria Day and Multiple Sclerosis awareness month. National Mental Health Week also is recognized from May 4th to 10th.  Please let me remind you that it is important as caregivers, service providers, family members and friends to remember that our own personal health is just as important as the people you are caring for and about.

I invite you to complete the Mood Disorders Organization of Ontario quiz and “have a check up from the neck up”.  Good mental health is important for all of us and caregivers and care recipients are no exception. Take their quiz at CHECK UP FROM THE NECK UP. If you took the short quiz last year, compare your results to your previous score and help determine how you are managing with your current situation. If this is your first time taking the quiz, the results will be good food for thought

Interesting New Developments in MS research 

According to the MS Society of Canada, we have the highest prevalence rate of MS in the world, with 3 people being diagnosed with MS everyday. Atlantic Canada and the Prairies have the highest prevalence rates of MS at 340 per 100,000 people and 450 per 100,000 people respectively. The number of people affected by MS is staggering, if you factor in family members, friends and service providers who are also affected by the complications of this disease.

A study was recently published by Dr. Zamboni and his team of researchers in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, that suggests there is a connection between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This theory describes MS as a vascular condition caused by a blocked or malformed vein that is responsible for draining blood from the brain. The researchers propose that MS can be treated with surgery to reopen these veins.

The media has been following  this research study and how it might influence the lives for those living with MS.  Caution has been expressed for those who are seeking out this treatment because of the limitations in the research that has been completed thus far.

It will be interesting to follow how Dr. Zamboni’s research impacts people living with MS, if doctors are allowed to continue implementing the procedure and how it will impact future MS funding.

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