N.B. will fund MS vein-opening treatment

Last Updated: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 | 6:12 AM AT

CBC News

The New Brunswick government will set up a fund to help people to pay for a controversial multiple sclerosis treatment despite the death of an Ontario man who travelled outside of Canada for the procedure.

Mahir Mostic, 35, of St. Catharines died on Oct. 19 after complications from the MS treatment that he received in Costa Rica.

The Progressive Conservative government announced in its throne speech that it will create a $500,000 fund to help MS patients seeking treatments.

'It is certainly an unfortunate situation that took place. At the same time, we know and I've met other people whose lives have been positively changed because of that action.'— N.B. Premier David Alward

Premier David Alward told a news conference on Tuesday that he still believes setting up a fund is worthwhile despite Mostic's death.

"Unfortunately, every day in New Brunswick, every day in Canada, we see people who die as a result of medical interventions," Alward said.

"At the same time, we see the tremendous impact on people who are cured because of medical interventions of all types. It is ultimately about managing the risk and ensuring people are protected."

The Department of Health still does not know who can apply for the funds, when the cash will become available and where they can go to have the procedure done.

All those details are still to be worked out, according to the province's health department.

Stewart Wong, a spokesperson for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, said the process is an "experimental treatment, and it should only be done in the context of a clinical trial setting."

Wong said clinical trials are being done in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Not approved in Canada

The chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) treatment is not approved in Canada, so several Canadians have travelled outside the country and paid for the surgery themselves.

Mostic paid $30,000 US to go to Costa Rica for treatment in late June, he was operated on three times to have a mesh stent inserted to prop open a vein in his neck.

Dr. Paulo Zamboni, an Italian doctor who is a leading proponent of treating MS with angioplasty, bases his therapy on an unproven CCSVI theory that blocked veins in the neck or spine contribute to MS.

In April, Zamboni warned against using stents — small mesh coils — because of the high risk of the stents moving and lack of knowledge about their long-term effects.

In Canada and the United States, seven studies are being undertaken to test for vein narrowing in people with MS compared with people without the disease.

The Progressive Conservatives promised during the fall election campaign that, if elected, they would establish the $500,000 fund for the MS treatment.

The New Brunswick premier told the news conference Tuesday that he's spoken to an old friend, who lost a relative to MS, since the news of Mostic's death.

Alward said the message he received from his friend was very clear.

"He said don't give up the fight on this because the vast impact on human lives and what this intervention could provide says that we need to keep moving forward," Alward said.

"It is certainly an unfortunate situation that took place. At the same time, we know and I've met other people whose lives have been positively changed because of that action."

Anne Laven, of Moncton, spent $7,000 last month to participate in clinical trials at a teaching hospital in Albany, New York.

She said it was a simple procedure that took about one hour.

Laven said she would like to see the procedure done in Canada.

"You see part of the problem is many people with MS, it would be very difficult for them to travel to other places because they are not well," Laven said.