New MS treatment may cause death: FDA

The liberation therapy for MS targets chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency. (File photo)

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorities have warned that an experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) called "liberation therapy" has no proven benefit and may even cause death.

The FDA has issued a warning saying that using the unproven treatment for MS patients has caused death, strokes, nerve damage and abdominal bleeding.

The unproven treatment targets chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) or narrowing of the veins in the head and neck that is often linked to MS.

The procedure includes widening narrowed veins in the chest and neck through the use of balloon angioplasty or stents. Both of the techniques are commonly used to treat the blocked or narrowed coronary arteries of the heart.

"Because there is no reliable evidence from controlled clinical trials that this procedure is effective in treating MS, FDA encourages rigorously-conducted, properly-targeted research to evaluate the relationship between CCSVI and MS, the federal agency recommended in a statement.

Patients are encouraged to discuss the potential risks and benefits of this procedure with a neurologist or other physician who is familiar with MS and CCSVI, including the CCSVI procedures and their outcomes," the statement added.

According to some estimates, thousands of Americans have had the treatment, but the exact number is not known due to lack of registry.

The FDA says it will continue to monitor the effectiveness and side effects of liberation therapy for patients with multiple sclerosis.

SJM/SS

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New MS treatment may cause death: FDA