WEDNESDAY, Oct. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency is rarely observed in those with multiple sclerosis, their unaffected siblings, or controls, according to a study published online Oct. 9 in The Lancet.
Anthony L. Traboulsee, M.D., from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues conducted a case-control, multicenter study involving 177 adults to establish the prevalence of venous narrowing in those with multiple sclerosis (79 participants), unaffected full siblings (55 participants), and unrelated healthy volunteers (43 participants). Catheter venography and ultrasound criteria for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency were used to assess narrowing of the internal jugular and azygous veins (data for 149 and 171 participants, respectively).
The researchers found that, based on catheter venography criteria, 2 percent of those with multiple sclerosis, 2 percent of siblings, and 3 percent of unrelated controls were positive for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (P = 1.0 for all comparisons). More than 50 percent narrowing of any major vein was seen in 74, 66, and 70 percent, respectively. The ultrasound criteria for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency were fulfilled by 44 percent of those with multiple sclerosis, 31 percent of siblings (P = 0.15), and 45 percent of unrelated controls (P = 0.98).
"This study shows that chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency occurs rarely in both patients with multiple sclerosis and in healthy people," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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