Soon after Robert Tyranski was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he volunteered to let a local researcher take thousands of images of his brain and neck. The images will be used to examine a new phenomenon that has generated enormous debate in the MS community, especially in Detroit, where two high-profile Wayne State University researchers represent both sides. Discovered by an Italian doctor, the theory's premise is that some MS patients have narrowed veins that impede blood flow in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms could be relieved with a treatment similar to angioplasty, typically used in heart patients. A vast departure from conventional drug therapy, the theory has yet to be scientifically validated and some doctors are cautioning against it. But many patients consider it a breakthrough and are traveling to other states to get treated for the phenomenon known as chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI.
