FDA Warns MS Patients About Experimental Treatment After Reports of Paralysis, Fatalities
May 10th, 2012 tmccoy
The FDA is warning MS Patients about the dangers of an experimental treatment that props open internal veins in the neck and chest, because it can cause death or serious injury.
According to the FDA, at least 2 people died from the procedure, which uses stents or balloon angioplasties to widen veins that connect the brain and the spinal cord to the heart. One person was permanently paralyzed and others had bleeding in the brain, suffered strokes, blood clots, or other side effects.
Reuters reports that it is unknown how many MS patients received the treatment or how many had problems since stents and angioplasties are not approved for this use by the FDA.
The FDA did not identify the stent models being used in the experimental treatments and suggest that those who want to try the experimental treatment for MS should do it only while participating in clinical trials.
