A number of Finnish patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis have been travelling to Poland for an experimental new treatment.

The treatment is for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI, a condition that is characterised by poor removal of oxygen-depleted blood from the central nervous system. Many patients report improvement in their condition after the treatment using balloon dilation to ease the constriction of veins in the neck to speed up the blood flow.

The treatment remains experimental, and doctors in Finland are waiting for further studies. Meanwhile, about 30 Finns have made the trip to Poland to a clinic that offers the treatment.

One patient, Heidi Murtola-Tamminen, has been to Poland twice for the treatment. In June her left jugular vein was dilated and in October, the right vein.

She was diagnosed with MS 34 years ago at the age of 20, but she says that she could already feel symptoms at the age of 14. The symptoms have varied in intensity for a long time, but she went into a decline six years ago. Murtola-Tamminen has been on a disability pension for nearly 20 years, but she still works as an occupational health nurse a couple of days a week.

“At the beginning of a year I was in a good phase, but then I started to stumble, and all kinds of things happened. I could not walk even a couple of metres without support. On my way to the hospital I grabbed my purse, and fell and hit my head on the doorframe. I thought that I can’t go on like this.”

There were testimonials on the internet of dramatic improvement for patients undergoing the procedure. Some said that all of their symptoms had gone away, while others were able to give stop taking medication and return to work. Some felt that the fogginess in their brains had disappeared, while others reported improved eyesight and hearing. In one video, a patient got out of his wheelchair and was able to walk with the help of crutches.

Murtola-Tamminen said that she would have been content with simply no further deterioration, and she did not expect actual improvement.

“Soon after the procedure my toes were of normal colour and warm. They had been cold and dark purple for decades”, she says.