Hoag Doctors’ Report Contributes to FDA Action Regarding Unproven MS Treatment

May 11, 2012 - PRLog -- The executive medical director of the Hoag Neurosciences Institute applauded the Food and Drug Administration today for issuing a warning about the dangers of a “vein-opening” treatment for multiple sclerosis patients.

Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD FACR, approached the FDA after learning that several patients in Orange County had serious complications after undergoing an unproven treatment, known as "liberation therapy." He and his colleagues published an article “The Liberation Procedure for Multiple Scleroris: Sacrificing Science at the Altar of Consumer Demand” that was included in the basis for Thursday’s FDA warning “alerting people with MS to the risks of serious injuries and death associated with” the procedure.

The article was published in Journal of the American College of Radiology this year. To view the article, please visit http://www.jacr.org/article/S1546-1440(12)00011-7/abstract.

Read the FDA warning here.

“I’m grateful to the FDA for taking the issue so seriously and for its leadership in assuring that patients with MS are fully informed about this questionable procedure, and particularly the potential risks,” he said. “Our primary mission as doctors is to promote the health and well being of our patients, and offer treatment using best practice guidelines. Today's FDA action supports our mission.”