'Liberation therapy' MS trials open to Yukoners

Yukoners with multiple sclerosis have a chance to participate in clinical trials for a controversial treatment.

There are up to six secured spots for Yukoners for the so-called 'liberation treatment' clinical trials in Albany, New York.

Initially, the territory was to take part in clinical trials in Saskatchewan.

Jenny Roberts, the president of the Yukon Multiple Sclerosis Association, says its members urged the Yukon Government to get in on the treatment at the beginning.

"We usually get ignored because of our geographical location, so that was our pressure that we did put on them, that, 'don't exclude us and if we have an opportunity we have to explore it'. And the YTG (Yukon Territorial Government), Minister of Health and the deputy minister has listened and worked with us very closely to get to this point," she said.

Roberts says the association's members are very excited about the chance to participate in the trials.

Applicants must be between 18 and 60 years old, have a valid passport and they cannot have had past liberation treatments.

The therapy is also known as Zamboni therapy after it was pioneered by Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni. Zambonis procedure uses angioplasty to widen neck veins.

His theory is based on the idea that narrowed neck veins cause blood-borne iron deposits to build up and damage brain cells. He believes that unblocking the veins will help people with MS, but some researchers have challenged the validity of the preliminary research.

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'Liberation therapy' MS trials open to Yukoners